Long Mei Qi, Embroiderer

Threads of Yunnan works with small-scale artisans in some of the most impoverished villages in the Yunnan province of China to improve the lives of rural ethnic minority women while also preserving their cultural traditions and raising their self-esteem. Yunnan is home to over 25 ethnic groups, each with rich cultural traditions, like the women who work with Threads of Yunnan. Through sales of their handicrafts, the project enables women to earn cash income which they can invest in their family's future. In addition to financial benefits, the women also receive training in literacy, hygiene, and nutrition.

Started as a project of Danyun, a Danish development organization, Threads of Yunnan assists with marketing the women’s products, as well as other needs in the communities. They have helped to build an irrigation project, provide scholarships for youth to attend school, and have built a community center. Of the 280 women artisans involved in the project, many have doubled and some even tripled their family income, which for many was less than $1 per day.

Long Mei Qi is one of the group leaders of Threads of Yunnan. Mei Qui uses her income from craft sales to purchase seeds to farm her family’s steep mountain plot. She tells SERRV customers, “My life is better thanks to SERRV’s orders.”

Read more about the artisans from Threads of Yunnan in our Fall 2008 newsletter (see page 3).