China News Service, Lanzhou, March 26 (Reporter Xu Xue) "Post-80s" He Qifeng from Longyuan has superb micro-hooking skills. In her eyes, "everything can be woven".
Through her skillful hands, animals, flowers, and figures have become exquisite works of art, some of which are even the size of a fingernail.
He Qifeng was born in a remote mountain village in Anding District, Dingxi City, Gansu Province. He was born into a poor family, and his rare new clothes were made by his mother and grandmother.
In her memory, hand knitting is very magical, and she can knit clothes, gloves, socks, etc., which also aroused He Qifeng's interest in learning. At the age of 7, she would use old wool to knit simple patterns.
In order to subsidize the family, He Qifeng walked out of the mountains and went to work in Beijing.
In the 4 years in the big city, she has changed from a shy and introverted girl to a cheerful and chatty girl, and she has also learned some weaving skills under the recommendation of the locals.
Returning to Dingxi again, He Qifeng, who has married, settled with her husband in Longxi County, Dingxi City. In her spare time, the clothes she knitted for her children unexpectedly won the favor of the neighbors.
After realizing that this is a way to make money, He Qifeng began to practice and study weaving skills, and combined with the current fashion patterns to innovate, more and more customers came to the door.
Through He Qifeng's skillful hands, animals, flowers and figures have become exquisite works of art.
(Data map) Photo by Xu Xue
In 2018, He Qifeng registered the trademark of "Mother's Body Temperature", which originated from the hand-knitted clothes she wore when she was a child. "The sweater knitted by my mother is neither cold nor hot, just right."
He Qifeng's talent in this area was quickly inspired by He Qifeng. She used her spare time to study online. When she went out, she observed the shapes and colors of flowers, birds, plants, etc., and repeatedly pondered the color matching and weaving methods.
He Qifeng said that after 20 years of continuous learning, now everything she can see can be woven by hand.
At the same time, with the help of the local women's federation, the company has applied for micro-hook appearance patents and graphic protection for the new products created. It has also set up sites in every village in the county to teach and distribute needles and threads to interested women free of charge, so as to encourage them to increase their income through craftsmanship.
Today, He Qifeng's local weaving team has 200 people, most of whom are rural women.
Among them, Li Jing's experience impressed He Qifeng deeply, and she was happy to be able to help Li Jing.
Li Jing is a disabled person, and she has been trying to find ways to increase her income.
After finding He Qifeng to learn the craft, she went out to set up a stall every day, and often exchanged experiences with He Qifeng.
Today, Li Jing's business is not only more and more prosperous, she has also led some women.
On February 15, 2022, the Gansu Provincial Women's Federation held the "Longyuan Skilled Hands New Year Market".
(Data map) Photo by Xu Xue
Li Lihong, a "post-90s" in Qiaojiaping Village, Longxi County, was unable to make ends meet due to family members falling ill one after another.
After coming into contact with hand knitting, she took care of her family during the day and stayed up late at night to make handicrafts. After her hard work, she also paid off and gradually overcome the difficulties.
He Qifeng asked Li Lihong to take charge of related work in Qiaojiaping Village, and Li Lihong could earn 4,000 yuan per month.
"The stories of the sisters around me often inspire me to persevere and help more people." He Qifeng said.
Wang Fang, member and vice chairman of the Gansu Provincial Women's Federation Party Group, said that the "Longyuan Skilled Hand" industry has the advantages of less investment, less resource consumption, abundant raw materials, high added value, green environmental protection, and flexible production methods, which can not only meet the needs of rural women to take care of their families The dual needs of increasing income and consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation can also alleviate the problems of rural left-behind women's employment and left-behind children's care, and can also keep female talents in the countryside, and can inherit the traditional excellent cultural skills and historical memories of the countryside.
The Gansu Provincial Women's Federation has included the "Longyuan Skilled Hands" project as an important task of the "Rural Revitalization Women's Action".
Non-genetic inheritors, industry leaders, female college students returning home to start businesses... As more and more female entrepreneurs join in, they have changed the original model of women's handicrafts "passed down from generation to generation, individual-oriented", seized Consolidate the policy opportunities for effective connection between poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, combine with the market, use modern marketing models to form entrepreneurial teams, organize processing according to market demand and orders, and the development of women's handicraft industry presents a new atmosphere of successors.
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