With sounds of sewing and buttons nailing, more than 10 workers are making “LOVE+ & EARTH-” Eco-friendly cup bags ordered by 7-ELEVEN. By the plan, they must make 2,500 cup bags per day and deliver 30,000 bags in 2 months. “We set time spending on every details. For example, we set 30 seconds on sewing a cup sleeve and count seconds when working. Otherwise, it will overtime easily.” said Xiu-ling Lin, Director of Tainan Rehabilitation Youth Encouragement Association.

It is not a high-efficient production line in a factory, but an Associate of disabilities at Sigang District of Tainan. Although half of the staff are disabled, they are not limit in working. On the contrary, the Associate receives large OEM orders and operates Self-brand “Leather Program” to create 10 million revenues in a year.

Builds Up Design Capability and Operates Self-brand

The association was established in 1979. It organized activities that encourages disabled people to walk into the crowd; After 1990, it matches disabled people with suit making, stamp engraving, and sewing works; In 2000, the association started vocational training. Ms. Lin was a staff in the computer industry and cooperated with the Association for computer training. From a volunteer to a manager, she noticed not every disabled person matches a computer training. Therefore, she changed the training into handcrafting, such as clay, beaded, and leather engraving. “Disabled people are mostly inconvenienced to move legs but have handy hands and good in focus,” she said.

Through years of exploration, the Association finds best niche in Leather Engraving, and starts operating “Leather Program” workshop. In beginning, they sold their leather craftworks on the street as the main channel. By staff increasing, they start receiving OEM orders and expand the production. When orders keep coming, it is not only increased the turnover but also pushed “Leather Program” to the design OEM field quickly.

Ms. Lin recalled the reason they step into design OEM. Once the Association received an OEM order from Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) for 1,000 lion shape key rings. We thought to make the key rings by a designed 3D pattern given by ITRI. But we only received a Lion picture without the 3D pattern. So, we had to design the 3D pattern for making the key rings.

However, we didn’t have a professional 3D pattern designer at that time, so we had to design it by ourselves. Ms. Lin explored how to make the paper models by herself day by day, and learned from failures again and again.

Later, Ms. Lin noticed that most clients couldn’t design the 3D patterns, so she started looking for talented designers. In 2013, she finally found Xia-Wei (pseudonym) in a vocational training. Although he is blind in one eye but familiar with computer operations. He is good at turning the graphics provided by the customers into 3D leather sculptures and further transformed them into expanded drawings. After Xia-Wei joins the team, Leather Program has talents from leather design, cutting, engraving, coloring, and sewing. It increases customer adhesion since they can match their needs flexibly.

Expansion: Sells DIY Kits and Launches Leather Courses

Because of self-design capability, Leather Program expanded the market of selling DIY Kits. Teachers or groups who have teaching requirements can buy the DIY Kits of all Leather Programs products online. Therefore, Leather Program gradually expand 4 main Businesses from vocational training, OEM orders, design OEM, to a Self-brand:

1.Creative Products: Physical channels, such as stores, consignment stores, and occasional stalls; Online channels, such as online shopping mall, priority purchase website of public sector, Facebook fan page.

2.Large Volume Orders: OEM for non-profit organization, such as Women Awakening Association, The Cerebral Palsy Association of R.O.C.; Design OEM, such as customized gifts for shareholder meetings or civic organizations.

3.DIY Kits: Provides members who launch a Start-up, school teachers, handcraft teachers, and learning groups custom DIY Kits which matches course themes or teaching hours.

4.Teaching Courses: According to the requirements of corporate customers, the Association provides a series of or single courses in customized themes or teaching hours. There have specific courses for districts or culture, training organization, or community group. The Association forms a one-stop service from course plan, teachers, to materials. It also dispatches teachers to the places where customer needs, or organizes different DIY teaching in the activities.

Retains 20 Talents and Stable Customers by the Four Businesses

“Leather Program” has 20 staffs now. There have 13 staffs who have been hired by Multi-Employment Promotion Program (MEPP) and Empowering Employment Program (EEP). When the program expired in 2019 and 2020, in order to retain the staffs with tacit understanding and self-employs the other staff. Ms. Lin strived to full production lines and received low-profit OEM orders for more incomes. “The revenues of OEM Orders support production lines, of DIY kits support Stores and Stamping Room. Each business supports some staff’s salary so we can keep all staff hired from government programs. We cannot waste the money given by the government. It is talent waste to resign the staffs hired from the programs.”

Even half of the staff are physically handicapped but not sloppy in rush orders. In order to grasp limited profits, Ms. Lin sets time spending on each working session to seconds. Even includes the time spending that staff move between working stations and sets. “Disabled people have difficulty in movement, but they are better setting on work for a long time. They won’t move around even when they want to do something. On the contrary, I have to remind them to walk and rest regularly.”

On the other hand, the physical channel made great progression. In addition to setting up stalls at Wan-Pi Zoo, Leather Program joined Hon-Hai Precision year-end party six years ago and earned NT$200,000 by working 6 hours in the first year. Because of the planned and targeted promotion, in 2020, Leather Program earned NT$10 million in revenues. In which, customized orders and course teachings take the largest income above 30%, and are expected to grow up between NT$11 million to NT$12 million in 2021. “There is still room for improvement.” Ms. Lin said. Leather Program creates many royal customers which include public departments, enterprises, and local organizations. They have demands for souvenirs or activity prizes every year.

Self-reliance and Return to The Society

“I am proud that people who cooperated with us didn’t know we are an Association of physically disabled people.” Ms. Lin emphasized that the service price and quality which Leather Program provides are competitive on the market. Social welfare is not the point but the icing on the cake. “We cannot charge a higher price than the market because we are an Association of disabled people. On the contrary, our quality must be good and delivered on time. Although we have physical limitations but are not limited inside. We are not only self-reliant but also help others and return to the society.”

Ms. Lin emphasized that disabled people must learn how to cooperate with the ordinary to expand benefits professionally. “We can’t keep supporting by giving (working) opportunities to disabled people, only walk with them together and their way can be far.”

with positive and progressive attitudes, and use professional operation and innovation management to cultivate disabled people living skills, it is no wonder that Leather Program has outstanding performances every year. The Association was not only affirmed by The Golden Wingspan Award for the 1st Disabled Vocational Training Unit Award last year but also been selected as Tainan City Disabled Vocational Training Unit five times. The association not only has a sustainable development, also provides their members a stable employment and realize the vision “To create a non-barrier handicraft promotion center with disabilities and build a happy home with love without barriers!” Through the vision, the Association became a best role model with self-reliance ability and create social values.

▲Business Model

▲Leather Program builds up a full production line from design, cutting, engraving, coloring to sewing. (Picture provide: Tainan Rehabilitation Youth Encouragement Association)

Case story: Multi-Employment Promotion and Empowering Employment Program

Interviewee: Tainan Rehabilitation Youth Encouragement Association

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 

Please attribute this article to “Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labor.”