Livelihood model to help women escape poverty

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - In recent years, women's associations at all levels in the province have implemented many start-up ideas to help women change their ways of doing things, creating good models to attract a large number of members and women to participate. Since then, many members have overcome adversity, improved their lives, and actively contributed to local poverty reduction.

Through the activities of the cooperative, local shrimp paste products have become known to many people.

In order to maintain and develop the traditional profession of producing shrimp paste, in October 2024, the Women's Union of Yen Duong commune (now Hoat Giang commune) established a cooperative to produce and trade shrimp paste managed by women with 20 members. This cooperative was established under the Project "Supporting cooperatives managed by women and creating jobs for female workers in the period 2022-2030" of the Provincial Women's Union.

Through the activities, members of the cooperative are trained, equipped with techniques and processes for processing shrimp paste to ensure food hygiene and safety standards, improve product quality, and receive loans with low interest rates for production and business to increase income, gradually improving the lives of households.

Director of the Cooperative Nguyen Thi Thanh Hue said: “By establishing the Cooperative, we have together built a brand, built a production and processing area, provided high-quality shrimp paste products, ensured labels, brands, diversified product types, and competitive prices for local consumers. Currently, we are maintaining and expanding production facilities, while creating conditions for members to support and help each other in the production, business and service processes through reorganizing production scale, applying scientific and technical advances, applying e-commerce, and supporting product output. Thereby creating jobs, stable income, and preserving the traditional shrimp paste making profession of the locality”.

Ms. Dinh Thi Lien, a member of the cooperative, said: “Our shrimp paste product has been passed down for a long time, the delicious fish sauce is famous with another name “Royal Shrimp Paste”. Previously, we did not know how to promote the product so not many people knew about it. Since joining the cooperative, my family has increased production, the product is consumed better. Currently, after deducting expenses, the family's monthly income is about 42 million VND”.

To equip knowledge, skills, and enhance capacity in supporting collective economic development (CED) for union officials and members of CED models, the Provincial Women's Union has developed a plan to implement and train to improve management and operation capacity, business capacity, start-up capacity, application of information technology in production and business management, market access for women... In the first 6 months of 2025 alone, the Provincial Women's Union organized 18 training courses to improve capacity for 1,390 women who are union officials, members of CED models, and women with startup ideas.

Currently, the whole province has 1,243 members, women who are business owners, cooperative managers, and household business owners who have improved their capacity to use social networking channels, create advertising banners, create QR codes, build online sales channels, create booths on e-commerce platforms, support female businesses to register for OCOP certification...

The provincial women's associations also regularly conduct surveys, select and register to establish local economic cooperative models; mobilize and support women's members to build models to help each other develop the economy, guide the processes and procedures for establishing economic cooperative models to help women concentrate resources, implement activities to improve production and business efficiency, and sustainably reduce poverty. Currently, the total number of female-led economic cooperative models in the province is 372, including 102 cooperatives. Many models have promoted local resources, are flexible in their methods of operation, and have developed effectively. These are models that are suitable for the economic conditions of localities in the New Rural Development Program, creating jobs on the spot for many female workers.

Article and photos: Minh Khanh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/mo-hinh-sinh-ke-ho-tro-phu-nu-thoat-ngheo-254532.htm