This required diversification. "What you have to do to keep something alive is not just one thing; you have to do lots of different things," Catherine explained. There is a rigid mode of production for these crafts, which are governed by a series of strict cultural rules (men are not even allowed to touch the indigo dye used to color the fabrics), but Atlas saw room for innovation in terms of design and marketing. They teamed up with female entrepreneur Lie Jia to help develop a way of commercializing the craft process.

Lie Jia was one step ahead of the other women in the village in terms of education. She was part of a Dong chorus who travelled around the country competing in singing contests, and her experience gave her a wider lens to focus on her own culture. Using her knowledge, she managed to develop her small weaving enterprise on a commercial scale. She formed a cooperative, encouraging other weavers to gather under the umbrella of her burgeoning brand. She now has over 200 weavers, a new showroom, a large farmhouse with 30 looms, teaching facilities, and accommodation for visiting school groups. She does cooperative projects with fashion labels and sells her fabrics online.

All she needed was a larger market. The fabrics produced by the Dong women are, as Catherine describes them, "insanely labor intensive." A lot of work, manual labor and time go into each length of cloth. The famous Guizhou glossy cloth is handwoven cotton dyed with indigo and then over-dyed several times with a red berry dye infused with egg white. The indigo process alone takes months. Rain fabric is a beautiful snow-white cloth woven from cotton and then left outside for days in the fields to be naturally bleached by the sun and morning dew. It is a gorgeous, extremely high-quality fabric. Something this labor intensive deserves a price to match.

Guizhou voices on the world stage

The longer Atlas worked with these extraordinary women, the more obvious it became that they should be sharing their experience with a wider audience – and that meant bringing the Dong women and their skills to the cultural capital. The women had a great time in the city, experiencing so many new things and thoroughly enjoying themselves – they had never even seen trains or buses before – and the art world in Beijing learned a lot from their example. "It really matters what people get exposed to," Catherine explained, "not for them, for us!"

As part of Beijing Design Week 2016, Atlas held a series of workshops and also participated in a symposium "Thinking by Hand," which promoted discussion in the design world that included "indigenous voices and traditional land-based ideas" – voices not usually heard in these academic conversations. It was also a way of exposing people to new ways of thinking and encouraging a dialogue between communities. "To know there is some kind of reciprocity between our learning and their learning – it's a powerful trade... Design gives us a means to interact with communities we wouldn't normally be able to talk to… Hosting a conference with people on the frontlines of nature claiming the space in the design conversation was very meaningful, I think."

The conference was useful academically, but Atlas also wanted to hold a workshop to allow people to physically experience these traditional crafts. They created an "Indigo Room" as part of Beijing Design Week, to show just how intricate the dye process is. They were gifted a "mother dye" by Lie Jia, which was an honor for the studio. "It's like a state secret for these women," said Catherine. "It's their technology. So the fact that we had one in Beijing was unheard of. It was a beautiful thing."

The room was a kaleidoscope of blue. Samples displayed around the walls showed different shades resulting from dye attempts made during each of the 24 solar spells. Indigo is so delicate and temperamental that it can only be used effectively in one specific season – the chemistry of the dye changes with the weather. It's a mystical process, one that transmitted its wonder and mystery to all who entered the room. "The room smelt of indigo," Catherine remembered, with a smile. "I can't think of anything more beautiful."

Using the indigo designs and fabrics developed in collaboration with Atlas, the Dong ladies were encouraged to develop a series of their own products. One made a collection of bags, which she brought with her to Beijing. This is a two-way exchange: the Dong ladies provide the skills and traditional production methods; and Atlas supplies the product design, quality control, and business plan. They are currently in talks to take a range of products, including chairs and cushions, to New York as part of an "elevated design series" geared towards the high-end market. A number of other international cooperative social enterprises have successfully used this model, notably Norlha Textiles, a Tibetan project which restored an entire village using the proceeds from its luxury yak-wool weaving business. Atlas hopes to achieve similar results for Dali over the next year.

Value in nature

Meanwhile the learning process continues – after all, Atlas is dedicated to research. They are already experimenting with new ways to use indigo and rain fabric in future product design. They are also constantly adding to their "design atlas" by learning new skills. After failing to achieve quite the right look for a paper lamp, the team decided to make their own paper from scratch, learning the technique from a family of master papermakers from Anhui Province. "It's not like we're against industry where it can benefit us," Catherine smiled, "but we would like to get down to the natural materials where we can."

One of the benefits of trial and error in design is the realization that technique is central – learning how to make these materials gives designers a greater understanding of the whole process, and ultimately aids creativity in innovation.

The future is bright for Chinese crafts. With more enterprises on board with the idea of sustainable development, traditional crafts can be preserved for future generations, while economically benefiting people like Lie Jia who are working hard to keep these traditions alive. This process also helps local craftspeople to take greater pride in their work – to know that its value extends far beyond their small rural communities. For women in these communities, this is especially important, as it opens opportunities from which they have always been traditionally excluded.

"We wanted them to understand how much their culture is valued by other people," Catherine said. "It took a long time to build a relationship of trust… but either women can be cut out of that, or they can lead it." Women like Lie Jia have stepped up and shown that they are more than ready to lead this rural economic revolution.