Hemp is used primarily by the Hmong peoples. The plant grows in the summer, is harvested in the fall, and all winter long the women separate and spin the hemp fiber for weaving. In Sapa, Vietnam, we saw girls and women spinning using a drop spindle whenever they were not using their hands for something else. They spun while walking around town, selling other wares, and while walking back through the fields and hills to and from home. Hemp is a very strong fiber, formerly used for making sailing ropes and clothing in the US and Europe. As such, it makes strong and flexible clothing, able to withstand daily use in mountainous regions.
Sapa, Vietnam has many fantastic shops selling tribal textiles. This is one I visited.
Below is a picture I took of a woman wearing traditional dress at Sapa mountains.
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