The garment- processing base of Ma Thi Bien at Dong Lac commune, Yen The district creates jobs for 10 laborers.

Nguyen Thi Lien (born in 1968) living at Xuan Phu commune, Yen Dung district had done hackwork in Hanoi for nearly 10 years. Because her income was unstable while living cost was high, she had to save money for whole year to visit her kids sometimes. In 2014, there was a paper bag factory for export opened at her commune and she applied for work. “As my working place is near my house, I have time to take care of my children. Besides, I grow vegetables and raise chicken after work; hence my life gets stable”, said Lien.

As an untrained and aged labored, I could not find a job in the industrial parks. Since working for Thanh’s garment factory, I have had a stable income. Moreover, my working place is near my house, so I have more time to take care of my children and family. Nguyen Thi Hong, Thai Son commune, Hiep Hoa district.

The garment-processing base of Ma Thi Bien (born in 1961), a minority ethnic women living at Tieu hamlet, Dong Lac commune, Yen The district operating since early 2016 attracts about ten female rural laborers of different ages. Most of them are local people. Bien collaborates with some garment companies to make clothes on orders for export. Her factory has been in stable operation and earns increasing revenue on Tet (Lunar New Year) occasions. Apart from the average salary of 4 million VND (176 USD) per month, her processing base provides lunch for the workers.

Hoang Thi Thanh (born in 1981) living at Thai Tho hamlet, Thai Son commune, Hiep Hoa district, who had worked for a garment company for nearly ten years, is a skilled worker. She was paid about 5 million VND (220 USD) per month. She often had to work overtime to pay for living expenses of her 4-people family. After gaining experience, in 2013, she borrowed 70 million VND (3,080 USD) to open a garment factory at her hometown. Half of that capital was in support of the district’s Women Union for preferred loan. She seeks big markets to purchase good materials. After completing the products, she brought them to advertise and find markets in the provinces of Bac Ninh, Ha Duong and Thai Nguyen. Currently, her factory creates jobs for 15 local female laborers with annual revenue of about 1 billion VND (44,000 USD).

The garment-processing base of Nguyen Thi Quynh, Thai Son commune, Hiep Hoa district provides jobs for numerous middle-aged women.

Some locals including Hiep Hoa, Yen The and Yen Dung districts are successful in changing occupation and dealing with employment issues under the model of “leaving agriculture, not leaving the homeland” (“ly nông, bất ly hương”). The province is home to 40 garment processing bases (making paper bags, clothing and spare parts) managed by women, particularly Hiep Hoa district with 30 ones. These processing bases create jobs for about 500 rural laborers earning from 4 million VND (176 USD) to 5 million VND (220 USD) per month on average.

Talking about driving start-ups of the members, Pham Thi Hang, Vice Chairwoman of the provincial Women Union (PWU) said, “Mobilizing and supporting women in business start- ups is one of the key tasks of PWU in the 2017-2022 tenure. PWU is figuring out the number of women who have business aspirations and initiatives to support them. Besides, the women are encouraged to establish production and business models ensuring markets for the products towards stable development”.

Tuyet Mai