Fashion for a noble cause

According to her, nearly 60 percent of the women in Danzhai have to leave their homes to find work to sustain their families.

Besides helping enhance livelihoods, this project has also raised the profile of batik. Yanger, who now is the leader of the Genius Mom Danzhai Batik Workshop, pointed out that people in her hometown once thought batik was only used to make daily necessities. But after Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group established the tourist attraction Danzhai Wanda village, more and more people have gotten to know about the unique characteristics of the fabric through a local batik showroom and experience center. The tourist center also gives visitors small gifts that are made of batik to promote the fabric.

So far, the living conditions of about 400 poor families have been elevated as more and more women follow in Yanger's footsteps to earn an income through batik embroidery.

"Most of us are Hmong women aged between 40 to 60 and with little education, and many cannot speak Mandarin," said Yanger.

"Because of this initiative, we can now talk and laugh while working in our hometowns together. Our living conditions have improved a lot, too."

When asked if automation might soon make embroiderers like her redundant, Yanger said that there is no machine that can completely handle the task, noting that processes like waxing and drawing cannot be done by machines.

What she is most concerned about is passing down the skills of this intangible cultural heritage.

"I want to let more people understand the production of batik and to pass on these skills. More importantly, I want women in Danzhai to live better lives," she said.

Jin Xinyi contributed to this story.

heqi@chinadaily.com.cn