Yao minority is known for their traditional unique look with silver jewellery and brightly colored embroidered clothes. Most of the women in the villages of Jinping are dressed in their traditional costumes. The women engage themselves in the embroidery work during their free time. The silver artisans, primarily men, also take a pride in making fine jewellery.
To improve the living standards of these artisans and support the traditional craft, different training programs have been set up to inspire the artisans. Both embroidery and silver craft training has been conducted with artisans chosen by the village community. The plan is that these artisans can train the other artisans of the village afterwards.
Getting new design ideas and a market feeling
The core idea behind this training was to give a new direction to the traditional craft so that it can reach people outside the artisans’ community and support them financially. Embroidery and silver craft of the Yao minority has rich appearance, and there are a possibility of taking this craft one step further by supporting it through new design innovation and marketing. In the training programmes the artisans learn about basic design method, new design, skill improvement, product development and market demands.