Women, Craftsmanship And The Cooperative Economy

In the context of rural revitalization,the industrial development of ethnic areas has been a hot topic of academic interest.With the shift of rural male labor force to non-farm and the increasing hollowing out of villages,how ethnic areas can achieve development according to local conditions and how ethnic minority women can find appropriate empowerment paths are issues that need to be considered in depth.Based on the field survey,this study,through participant observation and in-depth interviews,provides a deep description of Miao batik techniques and the daily life of batik craftsmen,analyzes the development mode of the batik industry in Miao villages,and explores the importance of batik to the development of local women.Batik is a traditional skill of the white-collar Miao women of the Miao branch living in Yangwu Town,Danzhai County,Guizhou Province,and is most typical in the village of Jija.In the process of capitalization of ethnic culture,batik has changed from a household item to a commodity characterizing ethnic culture and has an economic value.In this process,local production models of family workshops,cooperatives,and small and micro enterprises coexist,which are embedded in the social culture of the Miao people and have the characteristics of cooperation and mutual assistance and humanized management,and together promote the development of the village economy,but also generate certain contradictions between efficiency and effectiveness due to the embedding of market relations.The rise of the batik industry has allowed more ethnic minority women to move from the domestic sphere to the social sphere.This has not only increased the economic income of families,but also improved their own family status,changed the unreasonable gender division of labor,and realized self-empowerment.The increased self-confidence and revived cultural self-awareness of minority women have not only promoted their own development,but also facilitated the preservation,transmission and development of intangible cultural heritage.