Women in Remote Areas Weave Their Way to Prosperity with Ancestral Flax Linen

Located at the foot of the "King Cat" Palace (also known as mansion of Vuong family), Sa Phin Agricultural and Forestry Services Co-operative, often called Lanh Trang (White Flax Linen) Cooperative, in Sa Phin commune, Dong Van district, Ha Giang province is not only a attractive craft village tourism destination but also helps ethnic minority women here eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.

At 6 a.m. every day, 30-year-old Sung Thi Ly goes to the fields to cut grass, pick vegetables for her pigs, then returns to make her two children breakfast before they go to school. At 7:30 a.m., she arrives at the Lanh Trang Cooperative to do her sewing and embroidery task. At 11 a.m., she took a break to pick up her children, cook dinner, and then showed up at work again at 2 p.m. In the evening, she brought the goods home and continued the work with a sewing machine supported by the local government.

Lanh Trang Cooperative creates jobs for many Mong women in difficult circumstances. Photo: Thanh Luan

Since getting married early, she reports that her life in the early days was difficult. Her two young children are often sick and hungry, her family's livelihood depending on their fields. They had to do everything and anything to take care of their children. They struggled with the financial burden, often causes conflict in the house, and her husband usually turns to alcohol to relieve his stress.

In 2017, Ly attended a sewing class opened by Vang Thi Cau, founder of Lanh Trang Cooperative and then joined the cooperative to do her current job. Each month, Ly earns VND 4 million (USD 161), in addition to her husband's salary of VND 10 million (USD 403) per month from delivering food to schools.

"Now we has stable incomes, my husband doesn't drink alcohol anymore. Working close to home, I have time to take care of my parents and children, life is happier and happier," she said.

Her job at Lanh Trang Cooperative brings a stable income for Sung Thi Ly. Photo: Thanh Luan

In 2017, 35-year-old Sung Thi Sy was also encouraged by Vang Thi Cau to join the Lanh Trang Cooperative. After being taught literacy, vocational training and simple English, Sy took on sewing and sales jobs. From the poorest household in the neighborhood, Sy now has a stable income of VND 4 million per month. Sy's husband also became a worker of the cooperative. He often brings rice to the cooperative for his wife, then helps her cut fabric, pack goods or repair machinery.

Sung Thi Sy and Sung Thi Ly are two of many Hmong women who overcame poverty by participating in the Lanh Trang Cooperative. According to Vang Thi Cau, up to now the cooperative has 32 members, including affiliated groups in 7 communes, which is 125 people. Each member's income ranges from VND 4-7 million (USD 161-282) per month.

The Lanh Trang Cooperative members maintain the hand weaving tradition. Photo: Thanh Luan

The cooperative operates on a closed model from the flax input, 40-step process of weaving linen such as flax cultivation, fiber stripping, spinning, weaving, washing, drying, steaming, dyeing, and embroidering patterns, thereby creating diverse products.

To date, the cooperative has over 70 lines of hand-woven linen products imbued with local cultural identity, of which the most popular are raw linen, square pillows, and bags. Several products of the cooperative have qualified for standards of One Commune-One Product (OCOP) certificates.

Talking about the early days of starting her business, Vang Thi Cau shared that with the desire to keep the ancestral linen weaving tradition and create jobs for women in her hometown, in 2017 she organized vocational training classes for Mong ethnic women in the district, funding is supported by the district government and the State. Also that year, she proposed to the District People's Committee to grant nearly 200 hectares of land to grow flax and with a little loan from the bank, she and 10 founding members started a business.

At first, there were still many difficulties, so the locality helped the cooperative buy them sewing machines and looms. The products were supported and introduced by the Ha Giang Department of Industry and Trade at trade fairs inside and outside the province. Gradually, the cooperative even received orders from Laos and Thailand. Many domestic customers choose to import white linen fabric to make designer products.

To better suit market needs, the cooperative also make changes. For example, previously the Mong people could only weave a piece of linen size 50cm, but the cooperative improved to weave even 75cm and 90cm size pieces. Fabric dyeing has also been improved with a larger dyeing quantity per time (100m) and ensure no color fading.

The Lanh Trang Cooperative weaves a prosperous life for Sa Phin women. Photo: Thanh Luan

According to Vang Thi Cau, Dong Van district currently has 19 communes and towns, but Lanh Trang Cooperative has only built affiliated groups in 7 communes, many women're still unemployed. Therefore, she hopes that in the coming time, the local government will continue to support the cooperative in opening vocational and English training classes, and at the same time, provide financial support to help them buy more machinery, thereby create more jobs for disadvantaged women.

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