Textiles in the Community
Jim Holmes
- Region:
- Anywhere
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Professional, Rotary, Clubs, Societies. U3A, WI, Photographic Groups
- Fee:
- Paid: £100 via Zoom, In-person fees dependent on distance travelled
- Category:
- Hobbies
- Updated:
- 6th January 2026
I spent much of my career as a documentary photographer working on international projects with communities where woven textile traditions are still practised. Places where the fabric that rural society uses is made in the village using local resources and skills, where the elderly may be found picking threads from silk cocoons, while the young can be seen doing an hour of weaving after arriving home from school. From drop spindles to indigo dying and warp winding to backstrap or treadle looms, I have worked with and documented these beautiful traditions and the cloth that is produced on such simple equipment.
Textiles in the Community explores the diversity of handmade fabrics and processes, from rich silks to sturdy cotton or hemp, from countries such as Nepal, Pakistan, Laos and other locations, brought to life with stories relayed to me by these communities telling of joy and festivity but also marking sorrow and loss, milestones in a life that the cloth often outlives and becoming an heirloom. This presentation is accompanied by a large collection of beautiful Lao handloom fabrics collected by me, which are all for sale.
About Jim Holmes
I am a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a professional documentary photographer that specialises in worldwide humanitarian and environmental assignments from my base in Chester. Having been based in South East Asia for 20 years, living in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia then also in Japan, I bring first-hand experience to all my presentations.
My talks are unique, entertaining and informative, bringing together the best of my photography and the experiences my assignments offered me, all in some of the world's most fascinating locations.
My talks are of interest to general audiences, but also engage with the photographers, geographers, humanitarians, travellers and the scientific community in your group! I have worked in this niche specialisation for 30 years and I recommend viewing my website to get a better picture of what I mean: www.jimholmes.co.uk My talks are passionate, professional and thought provoking, richly illustrated with dynamic images that bring together the issues of photography, remote areas travel, environmental and cultural subjects, and the history of an area.
Please consider my talks for your future plans. My schedule books up well in advance, although I am sometimes able to step in at short notice if you have a speaker cancellation, it is always worth asking.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Jim Holmes
- The Mekong River: Water, Wars, Watts.
- Humanitarian Vision, My Work on Projects with International Charities
- 'Bowing to Tradition', Japan, where culture meets the modern world.
- Mongolia, Through The Lives of it's Children
- In All the Wrong Places, Life as a Professional Documentary Photographer
- Laos, A Deadly Legacy. Removing Unexploded Bombs from the Vietnam War
- Afghanistan's solar hopes
- Cambodia and the Ancient Tempe Kingdom of Angkor Wat
- Landlocked Laos, Where Buddhism and Socialism Meet.
- Dig it Deep and Dam it Up!
- The River Dee from Source to Mouth
- English Breakfast, The Story Of Ceylon Tea in Sri Lanka
- The Indian Ocean Tsunami in Aceh.
- Armenia and Georgia, Beauty on the Edge
Send a message to the speaker
If you are interested in this talk and wish to contact the speaker, please complete the following form: