Yunnan, China: Fair Trade is making a difference in women's lives

Words and photos by Stephanie Cheung

The Zhuang minority are known for their embroidery skills, and the 'fai-chuen' – the traditional couplets that families put on either side of their doorways to greet the Lunar New Year – are a testament to this.

The fai-chuen double as decorative bags, so they can be used year-round.

This Year of the Tiger, special fai-chuen were made for the Hong Kong market. Red. Yellow. Blue. Pink. Bright colours for bright wishes: 'ji xiang' is a wish for good luck, and 'ru yi' a wish that one receives what the heart desires.

The fai-chuen take about 28 hours to make. The first step is choosing colours and patterns, then cutting, mounting, embroidering stitch by tiny stitch, assembling the tassel from thread, making the strap, folding cloth into intricate button-clasps, and then sewing the panels together.

Everything is done by hand except for the last step of connecting the two panels. That step is done by the one sewing machine in the village – a machine purchased with the income earned from the women's embroidery products.

These women in Pingzhai, a small village in Yunnan Province in the southwest of China, are primarily subsistence farmers: canola, rice and maize. They eat what they grow. To earn cash to pay for school fees, health care and other expenses, some residents go into towns and cities to find jobs.

Now, with Fair Trade right in the village, women can earn income at home. Families can stay together, people can afford health care, and children are able to go to school.

The idea for the Fair Trade fai-chuen came from Chopsticks, a new company in Hong Kong, while the project was facilitated by Oxfam Hong Kong. Yet, the women's embroidery group, under the Women's Development Group of Pingzhai, originally began in 2007 through the coordination of the Rural Social Work Research Centre of Yunnan University. The Centre wanted to assist the women to earn income, participate in community affairs, equal out the power imbalance in gender relations, and recognise the value of their culture and traditions.

How did the money earned from the fai-chuen assist families in Pingzhai? Women told Oxfam that they have spent the money for their children's education, and for seeds and fertilisers. Two women went to see a doctor with their earnings. Li Jinfeng, the group leader, put her money towards building a new house.

Oxfam has a few fai-chuen left. To order yours, filled with Fair Trade cashew nuts from Vietnam, give Oxfam a call at 852 - 3120 - 5273.

For more background on the fai-chuen project, please visit http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/73918.

Stephanie Cheung works on Fair Trade with Oxfam Hong Kong. She visited Yunnan, China, in late 2009.