In Pokfulam village, I have been working with the village Caritas for a long time. Unlike the city-based Caritas centres, the staff at the village Caritas centre use the lunar calendar and festivals to engage with you, and the interior of the centre features nature, including Christmas wreaths made from banyan roots, a bamboo lamp and even snake skins. ...... Mei Yi, who used to work at the Caritas Centre in the village, often comes back to volunteer even after she retired.  In the days before, her office table is lined with various handcraft. The village provides endless free natural resources for those who like to challenge their skills and crafts.

 

The simple reason for crafting​

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Mei Yi's crafting is purely about the creative process, with no intention of who she is doing it for. Sometimes, if she does not get a good result, she will unpack her work and make it again. She does not do it for others, she does it for herself, as long as she meets her own expectations! Before setting up the Village Aunties' Workshop, Mei Yi did not have many friends who loved handcraft, so whenever the idea of giving them a gift came up, she would not think of making it herself. "Because they have different views and interests from me, I don't think they would appreciate it; some of them even think that making handcraft is a waste of time," she says. As a result, Mei Yi has always worked alone and rarely takes the initiative to share her creations with others. However, after the group started learning to dye cloth, they have a common language and it has become a habit for them to share their work with each other.

 

We fill each other's roles in the village aunties' studio," she says. "You might think that I am very dedicated to running the pottery workshop, but it's not because I enjoy practising more than others, it's just that whoever has the time is there to help, we are not divided into 'you and me'. She knows that it takes time to learn how to do natural dyeing, but when they do it together, it brings different effects and new sparks.

 

A letter of challenge to herself

 

Sometimes when she sees a beautiful piece of artwork, she wants to try her hand at it. Handmade art is a challenge for her. If she succeeds, it makes her happy, but even if she fails, she will never give up because of her mistakes. Each time she takes on a new challenge, she discovers what she can do. "When my skills are mastered, I want to go further. During the process of the challenge, I learn from it and try to make changes, and sometimes I can even create a new piece of artwork. Whenever she encounters a problem with her work, she will put it aside and look at other people's techniques to learn from them and perhaps come up with a different way of working that still achieves a similar effect," she says.

 

"I think handmade goods are different from machine-made goods. Handmade goods can express your own personality through variations in technique, choice of materials and personal preferences, yet each piece is different and intimate. The result is always a pleasant surprise. With socks, it is of course convenient to buy them off the shelf at the market, but making them by hand allows me to challenge myself, and in the process of researching I have learnt what it is like to make a pair of socks, which is purely an experience, but one that I enjoy".

 

Of all her hobbies, if she had to choose one that she would like to pursue, it would be natural dyeing. For her, natural dyeing is a sustainable development. Apart from being environmentally friendly, it can also be done at home, as many natural dyes do not require much technical skill or space, and the material is easy to obtain. "I think most of the village aunties, like me, are new to indigo dyeing and I think it is a complicated craft to learn. However, when I learnt how to do it myself, I realised that it could be applied to different aspects of life. Besides, the scope of learning natural dyeing is too wide, and there are still a lot of colours in nature for us to explore, so I think we can continue to study this craft. Although Mei Yi has been learning to dye fabrics for more than four years, the results of her work change every time and she still needs time to explore the dyeing techniques. Because of the uniqueness of natural dyes, such as Sappan wood, the results vary depending on the weather, the mineral mordant dyes and the temperature of the water. Unlike chemical dyeing, there is no formula to follow in natural dyeing, but that is why people are surprised every time they open the dyed fabric, and that is the wonderful thing about nature. "If the result is different from what I imagined, I will think about what went wrong in the process. I am happy that the other aunties in the village think my craft is good, but I just feel that I am still learning.

 

Living her lifestyle through handcraft

 

When it comes to making handcraft, Mei Yi also believes that the practical factor of space must be taken into account. The natural environment and spaciousness of villages allow craftspeople to create more freely than in the crowded buildings of the city. This is one of the reasons why the Village Aunties' Studio has been so successful. Now the villagers of Pokfulam are demonstrating a self-sufficient lifestyle, picking fresh vegetables from the farm and using them in the ceramics they make, dyeing fabrics from the plants in the village, and making clothes and daily necessities for themselves. "As long as we have the ability, we can live the way we want. Of course, the villagers cannot achieve the goal of 'living without wanting' overnight, but step by step we are working hard to move towards this ideal life.

 

The aunties will use natural handcraft and recycled materials to decorate the village, such as decorating the venue for festivals. Although receiving praise from the villagers gives Mei Yi a sense of satisfaction, she enjoys the creative process with the aunties even more. She finds it very enjoyable to think about the design, make the jewellery and work towards the same goal with pure enthusiasm. Natural dyeing brings colours to Pokfulam Village, can we find the colours that represent Pokfulam Village? "Even though I have been working here for more than 20 years, I think I still do not know the village as well as the villagers, there are places I have never visited. If I want to find out the colours of Pokfulam village, I would like to explore the village further, maybe there is something that resonates with the villagers that I don't know about, and it's hidden in a place that I haven't been to yet. That would be the colour of Pokfulam.

 

The Village Aunties' Studio now also organises workshops and sells products so that the public can learn more about the village's culture through the aunties' crafts. Mei Yi is aware that not every villager may be as interested in natural dyeing as the Village Aunties and have the time for further study. "But I also hope that more villagers will participate in the activities of the Village Aunties' Studio in the future, so that they can feel the healing power of craftsmanship and bring natural colours to their families and the people around them, adding new colours to their lives".

 

"I hope this book can capture our learning process and our purpose. In the process of learning handcraft, my most profound experience is this: these handcraft seem very complicated, but when you ask yourself if you can do it, please don't put a question mark or even a full stop first. If we are willing to put in the passion and time to understand and then practice, we will find that there is always a way to overcome the difficulties of the craft. Although I can't say that my finished works are very good, I feel that they represent a stage of my life and I am very happy with them. "                     

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