Based in Singapore, we work alongside Moonbeam in Zhaojue, which trains and hires local Yi ethnic minority women to sew. Our mission is to create opportunities for the marginalized Yi women to empower themselves, in hopes that they can gain economic independence and provide for their children’s education. By introducing these products into the global market, we want to raise awareness of the rich
Yi culture and the stories behind their traditional Yi embroidery. Our name "The Fifth Thread" pays tribute to the unique traditional embroidery technique of the Yi people, which involves winding four threads into two thicker ones, and fixing them down with a single fifth thread. It highlights the weakest but quintessential fifth thread, which parallels the importance of the Yi women in their male-dominated community.
