Editorial services • Val Müstair

The Tessanda foundation

In the Tessanda hand weaving mill – the oldest one in Switzerland – an all-women team of professional weavers continue to produce textiles using traditional methods today. And ever since Maya Repele took the reins of the mill, the cultural heritage site in Santa Maria Val Müstair has flourished. And now a long-time dream of the Tessanda weavers is about to come true: they are going to get more space. Pritzker Prize winner Peter Zumthor will build the mill’s new workshops.

Walking down the main street of Santa Maria Val Müstair with its mighty stone buildings, and just before reaching the edge of the village, passersby get drawn to a large display window: the mill’s spacious shop. The weavers in the Tessanda make and sell functional household products, such as kitchen towels, table linens and pillow cases, as well as decorative textiles such as scarves, bags and large rugs. There are currently 17 women processing linen, cotton, silk, hemp and cashmere on 27 wooden weaving looms that are up to 120 years old. The team consists of experienced hand weavers and apprentices who are working towards their federal qualification as textile designers. It takes three years for apprentices to earn the qualification, but seven for them to fully master the craft.

Maya Repele will need her skilled weavers more than ever in the future, given that two major projects related to the mill’s growing core business are in progress: since 2021, flax has been cultivated in Val Müstair again. This project is headed by the Biosfera Val Müstair nature reserve and the Tessanda. And Peter Zumthor, the world-famous architect based in Haldenstein, Graubünden, will be building a new Tessanda workshop in the neighboring village of Valchava.

Read the whole story here (German only): PDF