Carol （extreme right）and other entrepreneurs | Carol （右一）与其他女性创业者( SHOKAY: photo credit | 图源于SHOKAY )
非比寻常的想法
It began with an idea
2000年颁布的《中共中央关于制定国民经济和社会发展第十个五年计划的建议》将实施西部大开发、促进地区协调发展作为了一项战略任务。中国西部大开发的思想和提议开始受到越来越多人的关注，全国各地的企业和高校渐渐浮现出创新的项目帮助改善西部地区的经济状况，推动西部可持续经济增长。
与此同时，远在哈佛大学肯尼迪政府学院读书的台湾人乔婉珊（Carol Chyau）也心系着中国西部。为了更好的了解那里的实际情况，乔婉珊和创业伙伴苏芷君（Marie So）一同前往云南实地调研，在一次走访会中她们发现了牦牛纤维在使用时会比羊毛更柔软。她们想，如果牦牛纤维如此柔软，为什么在市场上看不到这样的产品？
带着这样的想法， 从制造牦牛绒产品的源头入手，她们直接从牧民手中收购牦牛纤维，按照设计师设计的款式，由织娘手工编织成纺织品进行售卖。采取了这不同的方式，她们创立了社会企业SHOKAY（藏语里的意思是“牦牛绒“），直帮助提高牧民的生活水平。
合作了2600多户青海牧民、建立了农村合作社，SHOKAY帮助牧民的年收入整体提高了30%，使他们能够在保留传统生活方式的同时，获得可持续的发展。
Inspired to improve lives in Western China, Carol Chyau and her business partner Marie So founded SHOKAY in 2006. “SHOKAY” means “yak wool” in Tibetan language. The raw materials come directly from the hands of herdsmen, and designers carefully transform them into ready-to-wear clothes, accessories and home-deco. Part of SHOKAY’s products are hand-weaved by local women from rural areas. Working with more than 2600 herdsmen and building up co-ops, Carol’s team helps provide local herdsmen and weavers with long-term employment and higher stable income while retaining their traditional way of life. 
与牧民一家的故事：两代人的合作传承
SHOKAY and two generations of herdsmen
“真正产生社会影响力不是一朝一夕可以看到的，是一个长久的过程。” 乔婉珊在回忆SHOKAY寻找合作商的经历时感慨道。         
由收购的牦牛绒做成手工编织成品，看似简单，但运作起来却困难重重。牧民与SHOKAY的合作贯穿了两代人的努力，并一直延续着。
乔婉珊刚到青海时，人生地不熟，难以找到一个组织与SHOKAY合作采购买牛绒。好在在当地牧民的帮助下，她们成功创办收绒合作社。“我们在青海一直以来很好的合作社最初是和当地的一位阿姨一起建立起来的。”
 “十几年前刚开始与阿姨合作时，还没有微信，沟通上不太方便。”即便通讯上存在阻碍，SHOKAY与他们的合作在一次次横穿半个中国的沟通中持续进行着。
随着三四年后，阿姨的侄子德季加从北京回到青海黑马河家乡工作，“我们开始认识他，以前都是跟着她的阿姨去组织当地的合作社，现在就是和他一起。”如今，德季加也已经从当时的一个青年成长为了黑马河镇文巴村的村委会主任。
“Authentic social impact is not immediate, it is a lasting process.” Improving living conditions in the West and promoting regional development seem to be lofty goals, but Carol started to have these ideas while she was studying Public Administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School. While field researching with Marie So in Western China, the two ladies surprisingly discovered that yak wool is even softer than normal wool. Why are yak sweaters not in the market? they wondered. This question led to the birth of SHOKAY. 
Recalling her arduous task starting up the business, Carol says, “At first, it was very hard to find yak suppliers. We found one of our best partners in a local woman in Qinghai, Xining — we call her Auntie. ” Auntie connected SHOKAY with herdsmen and that led to forming yak wool co-ops. Ten years ago when WeChat did not exist, communication with Auntie was very difficult. Despite communication barriers, SHOKAY managed to keep in touch with Auntie. Three years later, Auntie’s nephew Dejijia came back to Qinghai from studies in Beijing. He carried on his aunt’s job of connecting the yak co-ops. Working his way up, Dejijia is now village head of Wenba Village in Heimahe Town, and he continues to work closely with SHOKAY.  
Carol (extreme left), Auntie (2nd from left), Uncle (4th from left) with their family | Carol（左1）与德季加阿姨（左2）舅舅（左4）一家 ( SHOKAY: photo credit | 图源于SHOKAY )
从上一代到这一代，SHOKAY与这一家人的合作，十几年下来一直保持着良好的相互信任，包括当地的文化保护相关活动情况，乔婉珊与德季加一家都会分享和交流。2018年第六届国际牦牛大会上，德季加作为中国藏区牧民代表，进行了分享汇报。
乔婉珊谈到，“当时在台下听他分享，看到他能够代表自己的文化，代表供应链，回想十几年前，我们从无到有， 从大家不相信，到现在在国际会议上与来自全球各地的牧民分享藏族的经验，这是一个很感慨的历程。”
Spanning two generations, SHOKAY’s connection to this family is built on trust, lasting for more than a decade. Last year, Dejijia also represented Tibetan herdsmen at The Sixth International Yak Conference. As Carol sat in the audience listen to Dejijia represent his culture and share insights about the yak supply chain, she says, “I started to get flashbacks to ten years ago, when he was a herds-boy and we had nothing.” “It was hard for us to believe, that the young boy will be sharing Tibetan values on an international conference with people from all over the world. This is incredible both for himself and for SHOKAY.” 
 Dejijia at The Sixth International Yak Conference, 2018 | 德季加于2018年第六届牦牛大会 ( SHOKAY: photo credit | 图源于SHOKAY )
“ 你的logo也太像一块牛排了吧！”
“Your logo looks like a piece of steak.”
像许多创业公司一样，如今在可持续时尚行业占有领先地位的SHOKAY，在成长的道路上也并非一帆风顺。
如今SHOKAY的logo塑造出来的品牌形象，给人们留下的印象是时尚和高端定位。但其实这并不是logo最初的样子。
2009年，乔婉珊参与了Cartier举办的女性创业家大赛。她希望通过这次大赛，将SHOKAY正在做的事情做更广范围的传播和分享。
“你的logo也太像一块牛排了吧！”乔婉珊参加巴黎项目路演时有位坐在同桌的参赛者给了她这深刻的印象。
听了建议后，对标SHOKAY的品牌理念，乔婉珊在logo的设计细节上做了进一步的创新，并一直沿用到现在，代表着SHOKAY独特、时尚的标识。
回顾整个参与大赛的经历，乔婉珊认为卡地亚塑造了一个非常棒的国际社群网络，将全球各地有想法的女性创业家都聚集到了一起进行交流和共享。
 “这是一个很好的国际性创业大赛，比较少有这样的大赛定位在女性，而且其实，这个比赛没有完全要求是社会企业，只是对社会的贡献是其中的一个标准。”虽然是参与了较早的那届，但这十年以来，她与卡地亚总部依然保持着联系。
“参加那个大赛让我第一次思考女性创业家的不一样的点，女性选择创业，更多是因为她觉得这个事情是很有意义的。”为了鼓励更多像她一样的人参加这个独特的，聚焦在女性创业家的大赛，她强调说，“大赛捕捉的一个点是，女性为什么要选择创业，选择的课题又是什么，这件事情蛮有趣的。”
除此之外，关于在大赛中得到的收获，她谈到，“参赛的每一个环节都是对创业的准备，不管是在商业计划书或者到巴黎做最后的路演，如果有想要创业的女性朋友，这是很好的机会来作为对自己的挑战。”
Besides supply chain and technical difficulties, SHOKAY also experienced branding  challenges. In 2009, Carol participated in the Cartier Women’s Initiative (CWI), hoping to bring yak wool to a larger audience. At a panel presentation, one of her fellow presenters commented, “Carol, you’ve got a great business model. But your logo looks like a piece of steak.” Taking this feedback to heart, SHOKAY recreated its logo, which is still in use today. 
Recounting her experience at the 2009 CWI, Carol believes that the French brand has successfully built a closely-knit community, and she still has very good connections with Cartier and other participants. 
“Participating in this competition made me think about the distinctions of female entrepreneurs. Women who choose to start their own business often pay more attention to the ‘significance’ behind their business,” Carol says. Encouraging other female entrepreneurs to participate in this competition, she adds, “What Cartier tries to capture, are the reasons why people choose to start a business, and what their specialized fields are —— this is quite interesting.” 
Carol regards CWI a great opportunity, as not many competitions focus on female entrepreneurs. “In fact, it does not require your organization to be strictly a social enterprise. As long as your business is contributing to society, you are eligible to participate.” 
In her interview with Impact Hub Shanghai, Carol also mentioned other benefits CWI brought to participants and their projects: SHOKAY came under the spotlight after the competition and started to get more media attention, hence helping it to spread its business philosophy.
Apart from receiving branding, logo advice and more public exposure, Carol feels that each round of the competition has prompted her to re-think the business. For example, participants learned how to polish their business plans and to present their ideas in roadshows. This is a wonderful opportunity for female entrepreneurs who aim to successfully run their own businesses.   
 卡地亚女性创业家奖 
卡地亚女性创业家奖为改变社会的创业女性而设立的奖项，为参赛者提供奖金，商业培训，和社群支持。
如果你的创业团队需要更多的创业资源，广阔的视野和有针对性的培训指导，并且具有良好的英文书面和口语表达能力，以下海报包含大赛详情。
CWI 2020 will provide participants with resources, global perspectives, and trainings. If your team has been inspired by Carol’s story and moved to participate, please scan the QR code in this poster for more details in English. Applications close Aug 14th 2019. 
请添加Impact Hub 上海Host微信进行咨询
For more inquiries, please feel free to reach out to Impact Hub Shanghai Host.
作为Cartier Women’s Initiative的合作伙伴，Impact Hub上海将陆续推出和分享更多关于她们的创业故事。
As official partner of Cartier Women’s Initiative 2020, Impact Hub Shanghai will be  sharing more inspiring stories of these female participants in the coming days. Please follow us or stay tuned to our updates.
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撰写：黄晨铭，黄苏晨
编辑：Daphne Seah 
排版：黄苏晨
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