Women of Binh Thanh commune: Spreading the startup movement

With the will to overcome difficulties and creative spirit, many women in Binh Thanh commune have boldly started businesses, turning local materials into typical products, creating sustainable livelihoods and aiming to build OCOP product brands.

Ms. Pham Thi Hong Bien’s family, residing in Binh Trung hamlet, Binh Thanh commune, has been raising and selling fish and shrimp for many years. During her time working in the business, she dried some leftover fish and gave them to friends and relatives to try.

Ms. Pham Thi Hong Bien's "Sau Le" dried snakehead fish product is made from fresh fish, without colorants and is popular in the market.

Seeing everyone praising the deliciousness of the dried fish and encouraging her to supply the market, in 2020, she focused on making the first batches of dried snakehead fish to sell and made a good profit, so she decided to completely switch to the snakehead fish drying model with the brand name Kho Sau Le, which is becoming more and more known to consumers.

Her dried snakehead fish products are made from fresh fish, without any artificial colors, so they have a natural flavor. Currently, her facility sells more than 200 kg of dried snakehead fish each month, mainly at nearby markets, helping her family have a stable source of income.

In particular, during peak times such as the preparation for holidays and Tet, her facility also creates regular jobs for about 5 local workers, mainly women. “My dried production facility is not large in scale, but it is a good start. If I have the conditions, I will invest in more vacuum machines and dryers to increase output, expand the market, and move towards building local OCOP products,” Ms. Bien confided.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Diem (Binh Chanh hamlet) started her business with a model of producing dried freshwater fish. This job is stable, helping her have a source of income to take care of her family.

Similarly, taking advantage of local freshwater fish resources, since 2020, Ms. Nguyen Thi Diem in Binh Chanh hamlet has also started a business with a model of producing dried freshwater fish, mainly snakehead fish and snakehead fish. Ms. Diem shared that although the profit is not high, it is mainly a matter of labor, but this job is stable and suitable for her family's conditions, so she decided to stick with it. Currently, on average, she sells about 30 - 40 kg of dried fish at the markets every day.

Not only taking advantage of freshwater fish, many women in Binh Thanh commune also take advantage of local vegetables, tubers, and fruits such as kumquats and grapefruit peels to diversify their start-up products. After being encouraged by the Commune Women's Union and researching local products, Ms. Do Thi Thoa, residing in Hamlet 2, decided to start a business with kumquats, rock sugar, and honey.

Taking advantage of kumquats grown in her family's garden and buying more from surrounding households, combined with locally raised honey, she has created a refreshing drink. Each kumquat candy with rock sugar and honey is sold for 70,000 VND and every month she sells a few dozen of them to the market through the introduction of women in the commune and province.

Ms. Thoa also processes dried grapefruit peel products, which initially received positive feedback from many people. Ms. Thoa shared that she is learning more to improve her skills and expand her family's product portfolio.
According to comrade Nguyen Thanh Cong, Vice Chairman of Binh Thanh Commune People's Committee, the startup movement in the commune is going into depth and spreading strongly among women.

This movement not only creates jobs, helps women develop the economy and escape poverty, but also contributes to changing awareness, promoting the will to rise up, promoting women's potential and creativity. To effectively promote the movement, the locality continues to accompany and support women, focusing on solutions such as: Strengthening propaganda and training on OCOP standards and food hygiene and safety; supporting subjects participating in displaying and introducing products to expand sales channels. At the same time, creating conditions for women to participate in trade promotion channels, exchange and improve knowledge and skills on starting a business.

NYMPH

Source: https://www.baodongthap.vn/kinh-te/202511/phu-nu-xa-binh-thanh-lan-toa-phong-trao-khoi-nghiep-1052266/