Fishnet bag leads to bigger haul

When Ouyang Lijuan was a young girl in primary school, she longed for a proper school bag like her peers had.

However, growing up in a fisherman's family with three daughters on a remote island in Ningde, Southeast China's Fujian province, money was tight.

So, her mother sewed a shoulder bag for her daughter, using a common material in fishermen's households — fishing nets.

Carrying this unassuming handmade "school bag", Ouyang would face ridicule from her classmates, who would mock her and toss the bag around the classroom.

"Back then, I hoped the bag would break quickly. But ironically, while other students' decent bags wore out, mine remained intact," Ouyang recalls.

Today, the fishnet bag that Ouyang once wished to discard has inspired her to create a product that represents both the fishing culture and the essence of her island — a handcrafted tote bag, made from recycled materials, such as fishing nets, woven and patched with denim fabric salvaged from old clothes and adorned with shell decorations.

The bags are displayed in a coffee shop Ouyang runs on the island as cultural and creative products. The coffee shop was transformed from her grandmother's old brick house, which holds cherished childhood memories.

"When I was young, many elderly villagers lived in this area. When our parents went to sea to fish and there was no one to cook for us, the elderly would invite the kids over to share a meal," Ouyang recalls.