Taishan, home of the Mattel factory that produced
Barbie dolls, looks to the future.
Taishan, once a bustling industrial town in northern Taiwan, was well known as the site of the Mattel factory that produced Barbie dolls. As Taiwan's economy grew so did the cost of labor, forcing a number of companies like Mattel to move their plants to China. The town's residents know they cannot live in the past, but they hope to build on it to improve their community.
"When I first moved to Taishan to work, the place was desolate, with only a few houses and shops scattered around. It looked like a rural area, just like my hometown in southern Taiwan," 50-year-old Wu Hsiu-nuan says. "But thanks to the Mattel factory and the work opportunities it created, the town was transformed into a busy manufacturing site. Clothes shops, restaurants, groceries and laundries mushroomed all over the district. You should have seen how hectic the streets were when we got off work."
Wu was among some 8,000 former employees once recruited by the US toy maker Mattel Inc. when it moved Barbie doll production to Asia by setting up its flagship factory in Taishan in 1967. The Mattel Taiwan factory opened with 20 workers eight years after Barbie went on the market. Business soon took off and peaked in the 1980s. The factory was swamped with orders and had to enlist the help of locals to meet demand. Thousands of housewives entered this cottage industry, tying knots, sewing buttons, or putting little shoes and earrings on the dolls. Around one third of Taishan's populace was making Barbies at the time.
In 1987, however, Mattel shut down its operations in Taishan and relocated its assembly lines to China and Indonesia to take advantage of cheaper labor. The local economy bottomed out, and the bustling street scenes disappeared.
It was not until the late 1990s that Taishan began to pull itself together. In 1998 the Ministry of Education (MOE) subsidized a number of programs that provided communities with more educational opportunities. The MOE decided to choose five communities as models for its initiative.
In the north, the National Taiwan Normal University's Institute of Adult and Continuing Education was appointed to decide which community was the most deserving. After conducting surveys on several potential sites, the institute eventually settled on Taishan.
Professor Lin Jenn-chuen, the project leader, says Taishan already had a number of active community development associations and social education workstations that focused on educational activities. Moreover, the township office was keen to participate in this project and pledged to offer support.
After Taishan was selected, Lin helped formulate a package for its development. "Cultivating talent is important work. These people could form a team to lead and organize learning activities," he says. Accordingly, intensive training courses were offered to those who were interested in managing and organizing study groups, community activities and guided tours, as well as publicizing events and information.
The first two years of the project was a success, Lin says, as residents enthusiastically sought involvement. Consequently, the next step that Lin took, in 2001, was to integrate existing educational resources between local schools, junior colleges and vocational training centers operated by the Council of Labor Affairs by setting up a nominal community college under the supervision of the Taishan Township Office to handle overall planning.
Lee Kuo-shu, chief of the Taishan Township Office, says education is the key to local development. He is glad to see local schools have offered their equipment and staff to help the township launch educational programs.
Indeed, after the overwhelming response, officials began looking into how best to serve a community of students. Ku Tsui-er, general director of the Taishan Township Office, says her office regularly conducts surveys to find out what kind of classes are in demand, and when the classes are completed, students rate the quality and curriculum of the courses.
Taishan's makeshift community college offers 30 courses, including automobile repair and maintenance, computers, hotel management and public affairs. In addition to cultivating professional skills, the community college also helps trainees obtain licenses and credits to enhance their qualifications. "The major characteristic of our courses is that they are demand-, rather than supply-oriented. That's why they are well received," Ku says.
Thanks to the wider breadth of community activities, Lee says, local people are more inclined to participate in public affairs, either by contributing their time, money, energy or ideas. Lee says the drastic decline of disputes filed to his office for mediation proves that the programs are improving dialogue in the community.
"The fundamental goal of rebuilding a community is not just to improve the quality of life, but also the relationships between people," he says. "Only when residents are concerned about others and public affairs can a community thrive."
The second phase of his town's community movement, which started in 2002, emphasized renovating historical relics and reusing abandoned space. Lee says his office has built several mountain trails and parks, while strengthening conservation work, in a bid to promote tourism. He says his office's primary objective is to transform what the citizens have learned into work opportunities that will increase local income. And for him, the best way to achieve that goal is to develop a niche industry.
"In the process of deciding what direction our industrial development should take, we considered several options relating to labor, investment capital and existing techniques. After narrowing down the list, Barbies came to mind," Ku Tsui-er says. "Doll making is an important part of the Taishan Township's history. It would be terrific if we could restore doll making culture and industry in this town."
In particular, doll making does not require a huge investment, and manufacturing techniques still exist in Taishan, given the survival of some plastics-molding factories, as well as the presence of many former Mattel employees.
When the government spearheaded the 2008 National Development Plan, one proposal called for the establishment of local cultural museums islandwide. The township office applied to set up a doll museum, and in 2003, the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) approved the request. With the CCA's subsidy of NT$7 million (US$212,000) and a local fund of NT$3 million (US$90,900), the Taishan Doll Museum was formally established in April of 2004.
Curator Wang Kuei-lan points out that the museum aims to become a centerpiece of the community. "We hope to use the glamour surrounding Barbies to attract people, eventually making Taishan a must-see place for tourists at home and abroad," she says. "Meanwhile, we want to help citizens cultivate doll-making skills to jump-start the industry here."
The museum showcases approximately 400 differently clad Barbie dolls and antiques, including old Mattel ID badges, uniforms and manufacturing tools, as well as documents and photos addressing the history of Mattel in Taiwan and Taishan. Some of the exhibits were donated by former Mattel employees.
The Barbie in the lacy wedding gown--the first one made in Taishan--is one of a few original dolls on display. There are many other Barbies dressed in different styles, like army fatigues, bikinis and traditional Taiwanese aboriginal garb. These were all de signed and made by teachers trained at the museum in cooperation with Fu Jen Catholic University's Department of Textiles and Clothing.
Wang says since its establishment, the museum has organized several workshops for Taishan residents to learn how to design and make clothes for dolls. The museum has also asked former Mattel employees to share their skills.
Nevertheless, Wang says due to existing patents and copyrights, her town cannot mass-produce Barbies. Thus, the locals need to develop a doll mold of their own if they intend to build on their past. The museum plans to solicit works from artists and designers, all of which will be put to a vote. In the end, residents will choose a model that best represents Taishan's characteristics.
"Our goal is to introduce a unique Taishan doll that can only be bought here. Subsequently, we'd like to develop peripheral industries, including doll-themed coffee shops, clothing boutiques, restaurants and work studios," Wang says. "Hopefully, we can, in the foreseeable future, bring back the halcyon days of doll making and witness bustling street scenes once more."