After Lang's divorce from her husband when she was 17, she attempted to support herself and her son by farming.

• Soon realizing that farming was not sustainable for a young, divorced mother, Lang turned to weaving.
• In 2001, Lang's brother offered to let her son and her live with him and his family in their home near Vientiane.
• Some 8+ years later, Lang has become a master weaver, expertly weaving even the most intricate designs with relative ease.
• When she's not weaving, Lang is working on her brother's acre of land, growing vegetables and feeding the chickens and ducks.
• Lang is so grateful that brother and his wife treat her son as if he were their own child.
• The earnings from weaving pay for Lang's son's education, and any extra is given to her brother for the family's living expenses.

When you ask Lang about her dreams, she smiles broadly and tells you about her son!

• Now in grade 8, Lang's son does well in school, so she'd like to give him every opportunity to finish and even attend university if he would like.
• Lang wants to continually-improve her weaving because she sees it as the vehicle out of poverty-it's a way for her to support herself and her son.
• Lang knows that not all women could have endured what she's gone through with such grace and determination. She's learned a lot and dreams about a time when her son is finished with school and she can teach other women how to believe in themselves.

Lang has been able to provide for her son's education as a single-working mother. Aside from just the economic independence weaving GIANNA pieces provides, Lang has also learned:

• How to value her time in a market-driven economy.
• Basic economic principles of costing, overhead, etc.
• The empowerment that comes with supporting yourself and your family has helped Lang see that she is a valuable member in her community.