To empower women who wish to add to the family income by using their skills and talents.
For many reasons including migration and poverty, many ethnic people are in danger of losing their traditional weaving and craft skills. Some people benefited from a free market economy but there are a large percentage of minority groups that have no way of raising their standard of living. The women expressed a desire to go back to their traditional craft skills but had no means to purchase looms, threads, materials etc.
The original concept was that we could raise the money for the looms, and any other craft equipment, that would empower the women to make their own, and their families, lives so much better by giving them the means to help themselves.
After meeting and talking with some of the women in villages outside Ruili and Kunming we decided to expand our program to include the training of workers in value adding, and marketing of their handcrafts, to achieve a higher income for the same amount of work.
All our proposals originate from the women themselves.
How do we know who to help?
A proposal is forwarded to us and following an assessment of the need, and the ability of a particular project to succeed. We then set about raising the funds to enable that project to be implemented. Our contacts in China include Australian workers who have links to village elders, Youth League officials and a Poverty Alleviation worker and the Women’s Federation of Kunming and Ruili.
Who oversees the Loom Growers?
Our group is a Special Interest Group of the Sapphire Coast Producer’s Association, an incorporated body that enables us to raise money and apply for grants to assist us in our endeavours.
SERTEC has provided us with support to develop a Strategic Plan for the future.
1. To work with the Women’s Federation to assist women to lift their income potential by recognising and funding sustainable projects.2. To form a relationship with the ethnic minority women of the Yunnan province and offer the hand of friendship from rural women in Australia to our Chinese sisters.3. To showcase and sell the embroidery and weavings from the looms and equipment that we have provided, and put the money back into other projects that assist these women to have a sustainable income.
A partnership has been formed with the Yunnan Women’s Federation opening up possibilities for assistance with training, provision of seeding grants, marketing, and value adding for weaving, embroideries and other handcrafts.
We have looms working after a long search for craftsmen who could make them in China, and weavers who could give specifications.
The first cloth has come off for sale much to the delight of both Chinese and Australian women.
A Memorandum of Understanding is being signed with officials in Yunnan Province China, to give us status as an International Non-Government Organisation.
