Starting a business from traditional costume sewing

Ms. Vi Thi Men, Lau hamlet, Mai Ha commune (Mai Chau) checks orders sent to customers.

In 1999, Ms. Men started learning sewing when her family could not afford to send her to school. As the eldest of three siblings, her economic life mainly depended on farming. Therefore, to earn more income, she learned sewing to serve her family and people in the area. "When I visited Lac village to visit acquaintances, I realized that tourists often wanted to experience wearing Thai ethnic costumes, so I took on sewing jobs for souvenir shops in Lac village. My products were well received by many tourists, thanks to which the family economy gradually improved," Ms. Men shared.

The costumes she made received a lot of praise and support, which motivated her to try harder to make her products known to more people. In 2013, when she had a solid foundation and a large number of orders, she discussed with her husband to expand the scale, focusing on sewing ethnic costumes and daily necessities of the Thai people such as cushions, pillows, ethnic costumes for men and women... Through her skillful hands, the costumes sewn by Ms. Men always received positive feedback and love from customers. The good news spread far and wide, the products became known to many people, from which the quantity and revenue continuously increased. Currently, the products are available in many districts in the province and the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Dak Lak ...

Having earned income from sewing traditional costumes, Ms. Men boldly invested in more sewing machines to increase capacity, reduce manual labor, and produce more and more beautiful products. Each set of ethnic costumes sold on the market is complete with accessories such as belts, skirts, shirts, etc., priced from 200,000 VND/set or more. In addition to making Thai ethnic costumes, she also sews costumes of Muong, Mong, Tay ethnic groups, etc. to supply to tourist destinations inside and outside the province. To satisfy customers, she constantly researches and learns new models, improves quality, thanks to which the products are always loved by customers, bringing in an income of 200 - 300 million VND/year. With her meticulousness in work, the number of orders is increasing, she hires 4 sisters to work together, each person earns an average of 6 - 7 million VND/month.

"Having been hired by Ms. Men has given me a stable source of income, my family's economy has improved, I plan to learn more about sewing from Ms. Men so that I can independently open my own shop," said Ms. Vi Thi Mai, Nghe hamlet, Van Mai commune.

To have complete and beautiful costumes, Ms. Men always focuses on choosing fabric, cutting and being careful in every seam and stitch. The motifs on the costumes of ethnic groups such as Thai, Muong, Mong are transformed by her to make the costumes sophisticated and beautiful, demonstrating her ingenuity and sensitivity in choosing business methods and meeting customer tastes. "With the satisfaction of customers when receiving the costumes I made, I have more motivation to be determined to preserve and be passionate about the traditional costume sewing profession," Ms. Men shared.

Preserving and promoting cultural heritage contributes to tourism development and boosts the local socio-economic development. Ms. Vi Thi Men successfully started a business in traditional costume sewing, a typical example, inspiring the spirit of daring to think and daring to do for ethnic minority women to develop the economy. She was awarded by the People's Committee of Mai Ha commune for her outstanding achievements in production and business.

Thanh Loan

(Cultural, Sports and Tourism Center of Mai Chau district)

Source: https://baohoabinh.com.vn/12/202286/Koi-nghiep-tu-nghe-may-trang-phuc-truyen-thong.htm