Mong ethnic woman weaves “digital dreams” on traditional fabrics

Born and raised in Ta Van commune (Sa Pa town, Lao Cai province), like many other women, Ms. Sung Thi Lan became familiar with the traditional dyeing and weaving profession of the Mong people from a young age. However, traditional fabric production was limited to households.

Ms. Sung Thi Lan, Director of Muong Hoa Cooperative

Wishing to expand and develop the products of her ethnic people, Ms. Sung Thi Lan has persistently learned from the experiences of start-up models in neighboring localities.

With the skills she learned, Ms. Lan used all her family's savings and borrowed an additional 70 million VND. Ms. Sung Thi Lan and her sisters in the group established the Muong Hoa cooperative with the aim of preserving and restoring the traditional profession.

Products of Muong Hoa cooperative are made based on the principle of making the most of available natural materials, without using any industrial chemicals in the production process.

"Previously, before joining the cooperative, people often produced on a household scale spontaneously. Therefore, the products were often limited and not sophisticated. When joining the cooperative, people will be trained and guided to produce according to the process, according to the assembly line and regularly innovate designs. From products that only followed the model, now, the products are improved and more beautiful," said Ms. Sung Thi Lan.

To achieve the results today, Ms. Sung Thi Lan shared that during the process of building and developing the cooperative, she learned how to use information technology in the production process as well as marketing products, selling products or making online payments.

To bring her products to more consumers, she has attended many classes organized by the Vietnam Women's Union to bring her products to more customers.

Along with improving product quality, the Board of Directors of the Cooperative was given the opportunity by the Lao Cai Provincial Women's Union to attend a training course on using Facebook in Sa Pa town. Through this, members learned a lot of knowledge such as posting products on the website to introduce and share stories in production.

"In the past, Muong Hoa cooperative's products were only sold at markets or displayed at home, waiting for tourists to buy, but now with the application of information technology in the sales process, the cooperative's products have appeared on social networks Zalo and Facebook. We are also determined to learn and bring the cooperative's products to e-commerce platforms Shopee, Lazada or Tiki. Thanks to that, brocade bags, herbal incense... have become known to many people, and the income for cooperative members is getting better and better," Ms. Lan introduced.

Thanks to the application of information technology and electronic payments, Ms. Sung Thi Lan's sales were almost uninterrupted during the Covid-19 pandemic and revenue grew nearly 100% compared to the previous traditional sales method.

Not only contributing to preserving Mong cultural identity, the Muong Hoa cooperative that she runs also creates stable livelihoods for many women in the region, helping them gain more confidence to rise up with their own hands and intelligence.

Members of the cooperative not only preserve many traditional crafts of their homeland that are at risk of disappearing, but also work together to escape poverty.

For the members of Muong Hoa cooperative, from women who are familiar with traditional looms, to becoming skilled craftsmen and knowing how to bring brocade products to e-commerce platforms, their journey shows the spirit of innovation, daring to think, daring to do of ethnic minority women in the digital age. From traditional looms to mouse clicks in the 4.0 era, that journey is not only the transformation of brocade products, but also the journey of the women of the highlands to keep up with the development of modern life.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-dan-toc-mong-det-giac-mo-so-tren-nhung-soi-vai-truyen-thong-20250603162341546.htm