Singing Hands Cooperative

A women’s cooperative and student-led design agency supporting sustainable livelihoods and the preservation of Kam cultural heritage.

Founded in 2015, Singing Hands brought together a women’s cooperative and a student agency at the University of the Pacific. The initiative connects traditional Kam crafts with contemporary design and provides hands-on cross-cultural learning for students while supporting artisans’ livelihoods and community identity.

Collaborative design and student learning

The cooperative brought approximately ten women across three generations into collaboration, with older artisans mentoring younger participants. Pacific interns worked on prototypes, catalogs, photography, sales, marketing, and an online presence. The initiative combined artisan income generation with experiential learning in fair trade, sustainability, and intercultural design.

The cooperative’s active period is documented as 2015–2020, with a limited attempt to restart activity in 2022; the uploaded 2024 materials describe the initiative as on hold.