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A Short Introduction to Threads of Yunnan |
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THREADS OF YUNNAN is a thriving social/economic outreach giving women in Yunnan an opportunity to improve their lives and villages by making unique embroidered handicrafts. The venture was started in the fall of 1999 with the support of Yunnan Danyun Business Affairs Consulting Company Ltd., an outreach of China Development Company, a Danish non-profit organization. Danyun has a significant presence in Kunming and a strong focus on community development.
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| The women of THREADS OF YUNNAN are Han Chinese, and from the Lisu, Miao and Yi people groups. They are able to use their skills and indigenous cultural handwork to make authentic embroideries that are the highlight of every product. With the support of THREADS OF YUNNAN, the women are able to use ingenuity and creativity to earn money, providing an opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty which grips the mountain villages. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| The outreach was originally centered in a resettlement village where earthquake victims from six different villages had been relocated. Women were presented with the opportunity to get involved, and those who were interested received training in improving handicraft production, money management, nutrition and hygiene, leadership, and community life issues. In addition, an adult literacy training program was initiated, with many learning to write their names for the first time. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| The women receive immediate payment for their work. It is not unusual to see incomes increased by 70 to 80%. Throughout the project, at the end of each year either a portion of total sales has been given to the women’s village in a lump sum or reinvested in the community. The plan is to develop a sustainable business where all profits are reinvested into the running of the project or into the lives of the people served by the project. Now the entire village benefits from the work of the women through community projects which to date include an irrigation system and purchase of hybrid corn and fertilizer. The women themselves are active in choosing the project each year.
Some women have invested the cash they have earned to improve their lives and the lives of their children. They are now able to pay school fees, start small businesses, buy household necessities, and pay medical expenses. Women are opening market stalls, raising pigs and other livestock, and even buying furniture and making other home improvements.
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| Danyun continues to invest time and resources into THREADS OF YUNNAN and is actively working to expand into additional villages. Danyun is also working to develop international markets for the products. The goal is to eventually employ 500 women in 30 villages making handicrafts and creating better lives for themselves and their families. At the same time customers around the world are given the opportunity to enjoy beautifully authentic Chinese works of art. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Copyright © 1996 - 2005, Yunnan Danyun Business Affairs Consulting Co., Ltd.
All rights reserved. |
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