Embroidery business colors ethnic minorities' lives
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail CNTV, June 18, 2015
Entrepreneurship is not limited to the cities--the women in the country's remote areas are working hard to start up their own businesses.
 |
|
Entrepreneurship is not limited to the cities--the women in the country's remote areas are working hard to start up their own businesses. |
Today we're kicking off our three-part special series "The Yi Women: Weaving For A Better Future" about women of the Yi ethnic minority in southwestern China's Yunnan Province. Embroidery and handicraft products are helping them gain incomes.
A 4-hour drive from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, passing rice terraced mountains. Until we reach Dayao County in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture.
It's here, where the women of the Yi ethnic minority are trying to keep their traditions alive. And where female entrepreneurship is springing up at the grass roots level.
Luo Jun's cooperative designs embroidery such as dresses, bags, ear rings, hair pins, home furnishings, or head wear with the unique Yi ethnic flavor.
She has managed to mobilize a large number of women to come work in the embroidery industry.
 |
|
Entrepreneurship is not limited to the cities--the women in the country's remote areas are working hard to start up their own businesses. |
"Our cooperative was established in 2011. There were only 36 staff. Thanks to the support from the Women's Federation and the United Nations Development Program, we now have 800 members, from more than 10 townships across the county," Luo said.
In 2014, Miyilu achieved an annual production value of more than 6 million RMB, or almost 1 million US dollars.
Embroidery associations like this one here help minority women improve their livelihoods. The association's annual production of Yi embroidery can reach more than 200,000 pieces, and the products are sold to far away Shanghai, France or Italy.
Next door, at the workshop, the women say embroidery has helped them increase their monthly average income by 1,100 yuan, or 177 US dollars.
This has not only given them a bigger say in the household and with their husbands, but also led to their emancipation in society.
Yunnan is one of the less developed provinces in China. According to the United Nations Development Program, around 18.3 million people live in urban areas, and 28.3 million on the countryside.
2014 GDP per capita reached slightly above 27,000 renminbi, while the average per capita disposable income of urban residents stood at 24,299 renminbi, and that of rural residents at 7,456 renminbi.
In the capital Kunming, the Yunnan Women's Federation says this bottom-up approach will eventually help alleviate poverty.
From the far away capital Beijing, US skin care and cosmetics company Mary Kay is supporting the project.
The challenge now is how to turn these colourful handicraft products into more valuable capital for development.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)