The founders of Opportunity for Women tell us more about themselves and their project

Marie and Lucie have been developing Opportunity for Women for over 2 years!

They talk about their motivations and their journey that led them to create this association to help women in Southeast Asia... This interview is an opportunity to get to know better who is behind this beautiful ethical and supportive project!

What if we started at the beginning…

Where did this interest in helping ethnic groups in Southeast Asia come from?

Marie : “In 2008, I left alone for my first long trip. I wanted to give it meaning and, already passionate about textiles, I chose to go to India to help an association that employed lepers in a weaving and sewing workshop. I was won over by this experience, which I then repeated in Cambodia in a silk factory. It was in the middle of the rice fields, thinking about the needs of these populations and what I could concretely bring them, that I had the intuition of Opportunity for Women.”

Lucie : “I discovered traditional weaving while volunteering in Vietnam, I was teaching English to students of several ethnic groups, one of them, K'My, showed me her traditional outfit and showed me around a weaving workshop, and there, I fell in love with this incredible know-how!”

What motivates you every day to develop Opportunity for Women?

Lucie : “The women we support! I had the chance to visit the 8 weaving programs and meet the women, so I really feel responsible for helping them live their passion, so that they can escape from precariousness.”

Marie : “I went into the field with perseverance to find and discover the local communities that we support. The images of the villages, the landscapes, the children running barefoot, the women weaving in the shade of the roof of their house scroll by like a film engraved in my memory, engraved deep in my heart. I fight by developing Opportunity for Women for them, for the preservation of ancestral know-how.”

But who are the entrepreneurs behind this project?

In 3 words, how would you describe your role?

Lucie : “Fast, inventive and all-terrain.”

Marie : “Perseverant, intuitive, go-getter.”

What was your role model before you started?

Marie : “I don’t really have any, at the time, ethical brands didn’t exist and we didn’t talk about ecological transition at all... But Gandhi or Mother Teresa still touched me a lot.”

What is Marie’s role in the association?

Marie : “My role has evolved a lot, I initiated, structured and implemented the project. Now, I am cross-functional to validate while Lucie is on a daily basis on operations. We are aligned with the vision of Opportunity for Women and the strategic development that we work on together. More specifically, I am more focused on business development, digital marketing and the e-commerce site.”

Okay, now we want to know everything we need to know to do the same as you!

What advice would you give to young people who want to found a project like this?

Lucie : “Dare to take risks, you won’t regret it! And above all, don’t hesitate to ask for help and advice.”

Marie : “Determine the problem you want to solve, the target people who will benefit and the value proposition. Remember that an idea is worthless until it is executed so don’t think too much and follow your intuition!”

What are your wishes for the coming years?
Marie : “I dream of perpetuating our programs with orders that employ a hundred women full-time in our 8 cooperatives”

What is your favorite place in Asia?

Marie : “Humhum… I don’t have one but many, each one has a different story and flavor, each country has left its mark on me for different reasons! My favorite country has long been Myanmar, a journey almost out of time then by returning for 4 months to Vietnam, I really liked living in Saigon for its business side… As for Laos, we live even more in the present moment! Finally, if we talk about calm and relaxation, I would remember the idyllic landscapes on the islands, whether in Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam.”

Lucie : “That’s a difficult question... I would say the village of Dung Kno (where the Niam Sa collection is woven) because I have been there many times and almost feel at home there!”

What do you think we should do to further help minorities in Southeast Asia?

Lucie : “Give them a voice because it is the first step before helping them and it allows us to understand their needs, listen to their advice (we have a lot to learn from these people who represent 5% of the world's population and preserve 80% of biodiversity) and give them confidence!”

A favorite cushion?

Lucie : “They all have an incredible story and I dream of mixing them on my future sofa! If I had to choose just one, it would be the yellow Dokmai because it has been labeled by La Belle Empreinte and represents the culmination of what we want to highlight: local cotton grown without chemicals, vegetable dyeing, ancestral weaving and sewing in France by women in rehabilitation.”

Marie : “My favorites are closely linked to the history of the cushion, the materials and the weavers! Like Lucie, I put the Dokmai collection first, the Dien Bien Phu cooperative is our most successful pilot cooperative and it is also a good example of perseverance. The first time I went there, it could not come to fruition… By contacting them 2 years later, we found a reliable partner and the project got off to a flying start! More generally, my favorites are the cushions made from cotton and natural dyes.”

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