Many anthropologists, as well as scholars of cultural heritage
Almost 100 of them did field research here
A very complete ecological structure
Almost a retreat from the world
Dali Dong Village is located in the deep mountains in the southeastern part of Guizhou
(The villagers) grow rice and vegetables
When new babies are born
They grow fir trees on their own land
And by the time they get married
The trees are big enough for building houses
It’s a typical traditional Dong village
I was born in Taiwan
Studied architecture and urban design in the United States
I came to Dali Dong Village in the fall of 2015
On a female intangible cultural heritage project
October is the busiest time in the village
Because they are going to harvest
It's also time for women to dye cloth
And to harvest isatis root
Fermentation, dyeing in jar and beating
Make the most characteristic bright cloth of the Dong people
The Dong cloth is in danger of dying out
We built a studio for women
Designed the community center
The community center has three floors
The first floor is the center of the presentation
On the second floor there is the women's studio
At the bottom is one of our dyehouses
Architecture and textile are closely related
Both of them have structures
The first manmade architecture was a tent
At Bauhaus (College), the department where women studied was the Department of Textiles
Zhangmo is an architect we work with
He masters all the Dong people’s Chuandou(techniques)
Very modern concepts
After the house was torn down
You can move to a different location and reassemble it
In 2019
A young man from Guiyang called Shiba
Invited us to build a new hostel together
I am the only Han Chinese in the Dong Village
And I’ve been living here for 5 years
I drove here with my friends
When we arrived at the village
We thought this must be where the gods live
I didn’t know until later that people would examine several places
Before they decide on one if they are serious about their hostel
I just love the village
So I settle down here
And start a hostel
So there is no inspection of the industry whatsoever
Materials for the hostel
Zhangmo inspired us
First it’s wood, local fir trees
The second one is red brick produced in Rongjiang
The third is glass
Blending into the village
Nominated for the world's largest professional architectural design website
We were surprised
Among the list are projects that received tens, even hundreds of millions yuan investment
Red bricks are basically at the same angle
I tried with 10 teams in Rongjiang
And finally achieved such an effect
The first time I saw Dou Ran (natural dyeing with beans)
Was when Bimeng (villager) showed us a Dou Ran quilt cover
Left by her grandmother
The craft is growing lost in the younger generation
After they are old enough to go to school
They no longer have the time
To watch their mothers and grandmothers do it
So we took pictures and archived them
Brought the materials back to Beijing
And recovered the Dou Ran patterns
Made molds
And brought back to Dali
We have a workshop
Making Dou Ran beddings
Starting with these old Dong cloths
Adding some modern tailoring techniques
Made pillows, baby quilts and eco-friendly bags
We competed in the national charity intangible cultural relics contest
Products are also sold at stores abroad that focus on sustainable fashion
In 2017 we went to Beijing to participate in a design exhibition
I didn't expect to go to Beijing in my life
The Dong people live in a patrilineal society
When we first came, we asked about the price of cloth
Women looked at their sons or husbands
Their sewing machine
Was put in a corner of agricultural production in their house
But in the past five years
They made a few thousand yuan extra money from this
Their husbands began to be very supportive of them
A husband who never used a sewing machine before
Started using sewing machines
Women over 45 years of age
Used to work away from home
And now many of them are back in the village and work as tailors
I came to the village alone from the beginning
Now there are other people joining the village gradually
My two housekeepers are both millennial
They used to go out to work a lot
Now they work here, just 50 meters from home
One and a half minute walk from home
Two girls from Chengdu come to weave and dye cloth
Do traditional crafts and make their favorite clothes
In Guizhou, the traditional crafts of dyeing, weaving and embroidery are well preserved
I come to the Dong village because of the gene
To make the kind of shiny cloth of scientific fabrics
Which has futuristic feature
In June 2020, we returned to the village for the first time
Their lives had not been disrupted by the epidemic too much
The traditional form of life is preserved
It has a circular autonomous ability to resist
It may appears that we're helping the women
But what I learned from the whole village at the same time
Is thinking about the ecological cycle