David Barker

David Keith Barker was born in England and completed his full-time education in England and the South Pacific. In 1968, he began his career with international organizations with assignments in the Caribbean, Iran, Fiji, Bangladesh, Nepal, Zambia and Thailand. For several years he was a freelance photographer and writer specializing in handicrafts and associated subjects. He is now retired and is resident in Thailand with his wife Evelyn. Both continue to actively assist and support NGOs in Cambodia, Laos, Nepal and Vietnam. Pema, the only daughter, currently works at a Museum in New York. His personal discovery of Bhutanese textiles occurred during visits to the country in the 1980’s and prompted his compilation of Designs of Bhutan in 1985 and Textile Designs of Bhutan Vols 2 & 3, and his new book "Grace of the Kira", Bhutan’s Textile Heritage, to record textile designs seen on early century fabrics for repetition by present day weavers and to preserve their historic importance.