Thu, Jun 18, 2015 page5

• Yilan community banks on Hakka handbag work

  HUMAN RESOURCES: The expertise of weavers who had worked at shuttered clothing plants helped the Yuemei Community turn its hardship into success

  • By Chu Tse-wei and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Though Yuemei Community in Yilan County’s Sansing Township (三星) lacks natural resources, it has found a way to manufacture well-designed, locally influenced bags, enabling it to bring more than NT$10 million (US$319,887) into the community per year.

  The bags are constructed from materials that are sourced entirely in Taiwan, and are sold in Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City and on the Old Street in Taoyuan’s Dasi Township (大溪), as well as in China, development association executive-general Wang Jin-lung (王金龍) said.

  The impetus behind the development of the bags was the relocation of 30 textile and fabric plants from Sansing to China in a move attributed to increased overhead costs 20 years ago, Wang said.

  

  A tailor teaches Yuemei Community members in Yilan County’s Sansing Township to make handbags in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of the Yuemei Community

  Many of the workers at the plants were laid off and had turned to minor jobs to maintain a living, Wang said.

  Without natural resources — such as tea — and a lack of government subsidies, as the community did not have state-run incinerators or power plants, the community was quickly running into financial difficulties, Wang said.

  It was then that he thought of using the expertise of former weavers dismissed from the clothing plants in the hope of turning the situation around, he said.

  

  Two firefly-shaped bags made by members of the Yuemei Community in Yilan County are displayed in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of the Yuemei Community

  As Sansing has a high proportion of Hakka people, the workers inevitably used traditional Hakka flower designs in the products, Wang said.

  Themes were inspired by local scenery, while handles, zippers and seams are all handcrafted, Wang said.

  Compared with factory-made bags, Yuemei products take twice as long to make, Wang said, adding that the exquisite quality of the handbags has seen the community craft team dubbed the “Louis Vuitton” of Yilan.

  No one had expected the venture to become a success when it began four years ago, Wang said, adding that he had provided the first NT$500,000 to get the project off the ground, as well as applying for government subsidies to continue production.

  Though production was boosted through the work of seven elderly people from economically disadvantaged families in the community, the group lacked a platform for selling the products, Wang said, adding that the association asked several stores to display their wares.

  The bags compete with cheaper handbags that are made in China, Wang said.

  The most expensive Yilan bag costs NT$990, with others available for NT$100, NT$290 and NT$790, depending upon the work that goes into making them.

  “We aimed at higher sales numbers at a lower profit margin,” Wang said, adding that “with increasing fame and advertising, the community’s products have quickly seen wider acceptance from tourists.”

  The success of the Yuemei bags allowed the community, with a total of 1,060 residents, to bring in more than NT$10 million annually, Wang said, adding that there are now 10 workers producing bags.

  Some of the money that comes in goes toward funding for banquets and festivals, Wang said.

  The enterprise provides working opportunities for disadvantaged elderly people, Wang added.
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