Workshop supports rural women in Guizhou

Fashion from Southwest China's Guizhou province impressed visitors with its remarkable ethnic features at the 2018 International Women Sustainable Development Forum and Handcrafts Exhibition held in London on June 9.

The Guizhou fashion products, which featured a fusion of Western fashion and Eastern motifs inspired by traditional Miao ethnic embroidery and batik, were handcrafted by rural women in Zhijin county and were the result of poverty alleviation efforts in the area. At the Fourth World Internet Conference last year, online discount retailer Vipshop signed an agreement to help the impoverished county.

Embroidery and batik from Zhijin county impress visitors at the 2018 International Women Sustainable Development Forum and Handcrafts Exhibition held in London on June 9. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Miao embroidery and batik are important parts of Chinese intangible cultural heritage. As traditional handicrafts of the Miao ethnic group, local women often learn embroidery and batik when they are young.

However, because the art forms aren't enough to support them, women who engage in embroidery and batik typically have to find a job outside their hometown. Official data shows that there is a total of 40,000 seamstresses, 7,000 of which live below the national poverty line.

"The best way to preserve the tradition is to let people, especially the young generation, understand and respect traditional techniques. Once techniques are recognized by the market, they can obtain revenue as well as sustainable development," said Huang Hongying, vice-president of Vipshop.

To this end, an embroidery and batik workshop was set up in early November 2017 to encourage local women to start their own business. The workshop helped them make a living at home by broadening selling channels through e-commerce. Since its foundation, the workshop has brought 250,000 yuan ($37,780) to its employees.

"I used to see Miao embroidery and batik as nothing more than traditional culture. I never imagined that they could be so popular among English trendsetters," said Yang Linxian, a seamstress in Zhijin. She currently works at the workshop on the recommendation of the local Women's Federation and was invited to the exhibition in London.

Yang Linxian, a seamstress in Zhijin county, showcases batik technique to visitors in London on June 9. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Vipshop also set up another workshop and signed an annual production order with the county in May this year, which will bring 10 million yuan in income to local women.

Seven well-known Vipshop brands partnered with the county in order to add orders and increase the popularity of Miao embroidery and batik. According to the agreement, each brand will provide at least 100,000 yuan orders for local seamstresses.

The Vipshop workshop provides a new way to protect and develop local cultural heritage while also reducing poverty. A total of 66 handicraft cooperatives have been set up spontaneously in 32 villages in Zhijin.

It is reported that over 30,000 women will engage in the making of traditional handicrafts by 2020, with 60,000 people expected to be lifted out of poverty.