Batik boosts Pianpo vitalization and villagers' income

A villager from the Pianpo Bouyei ethnic group village in Wudang district, Guiyang, has returned home to establish a batik workshop. Having learned the traditional craft of batik from village elders as a child, the founder later encountered a wide range of ethnic, cultural and creative products while working away from home. As rural tourism developed in Pianpo, they decided to return and start their own business.

The workshop uses indigo plant roots as a natural dye, encouraging local farmers to grow raw materials and purchase them. It has established a full-chain industry integrating raw material cultivation, pattern design, wax drawing, dyeing, and finished product processing. The products are suitable for mass production and support personalized customization, with market orders steadily increasing.

The workshop employs six permanent workers year-round and expands to a peak seasonal workforce of up to 100, prioritizing jobs for local women who stay in the village. Villagers working at the workshop earn between 1,000 yuan ($140) and 10,000 yuan per month, enabling them to earn while working from home.

Local villagers can participate in the industrial chain through various means, including growing indigo plants, working in the workshop, receiving collaborative orders, and sharing in industrial dividends. The project incorporates Bouyei people's intangible cultural heritage batik techniques, combining them with modern market demands to develop products.

By vitalizing traditional handicraft resources, the project utilizes Pianpo’s unique intangible cultural heritage to promote village development and increase villagers' incomes.