Handicrafts in Yen Tien (Y Yen) create jobs for many women during the off-season.

Women's Unions in communes, towns and cities have coordinated with vocational training centers to organize vocational training classes, helping thousands of women learn vocational skills suitable to the conditions of each locality such as: bamboo and rattan weaving, embroidery, training in livestock and poultry raising techniques, growing fruit trees, clean vegetables, aquaculture, seafood processing, etc. Visiting the Cooperative Group for the production and export of sedge baskets of Ms. Hoang Thi Oanh, Hamlet 9, Tra Lu Commune (Xuan Truong), we learned that the cooperative group has coordinated with the Xuan Truong District Vocational Training Center to open vocational training classes for female workers, opening up practical job opportunities for many women in the locality. Sharing about the production model, Ms. Hoang Thi Oanh said: “Making sedge baskets is not too hard, but it requires dexterity, perseverance and carefulness. In the early days, I directly guided the women in each step, encouraging them to stick with the job. Although the income from the job is not high, the important thing is that the women can take advantage of their free time, take care of their families and have a stable source of income”. Since the cooperative group for producing and exporting sedge baskets has developed, the female farmers here have had more jobs and income to improve their lives. The hands of the women, who were only used to farming, now move quickly along each weaving line to create beautiful and environmentally friendly handicraft products. In addition, the traditional lace embroidery production facilities of the commune do not require workers to work on-site but can receive products to do at home, contributing to creating additional jobs for rural workers during the off-season; thereby helping many women have more income, contributing to improving their lives.

In Cat Thanh town (Truc Ninh), the conical hat making profession has been around for nearly 60 years, creating a livelihood for thousands of households. When she was 18 years old, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoan learned and practiced the profession, then married a man from the same village, so she has maintained the hat making profession until now. She shared that in the past, each hat made was calculated by points, ranging from 5 to 10 points/hat, then added up to exchange for rice. Therefore, her whole family worked hard to make hats. Up to now, despite her old age, she still regularly makes hats every day to earn more income. To make a complete hat, all production stages are done by hand and each part requires meticulousness and patience such as: making the brim, covering the leaves (3 layers), sewing (cham), and making the brim... Each person can make 1 to 2 hats a day. Currently, the hat-making profession is still maintained and developed. Although it no longer attracts many participants, there are still a few dozen households making the profession during the off-season with two main products: plain hats and embroidered hats. The daily wage of a plain hat maker is only about 50-60 thousand VND/person/day; while the income of an embroidered hat maker is higher, about 80 thousand VND/person/day or more. Although the average income of hat makers is still modest compared to other professions, the people here always keep the profession, both to earn extra income during the off-season and to preserve and promote the traditional cultural values ​​of their homeland.

After hundreds of years, the weaving profession is still maintained by the people of Van Don village, Hung Loc ward (Nam Dinh city). With talented hands and perseverance, beautiful and sophisticated handicraft products are still regularly produced to serve life. There are still many people here who are "passionate" about the weaving profession. The elderly, mostly women, can no longer do heavy work in the fields, and middle-aged people who do not work in companies or industrial zones still work hard at large production facilities every day. Taking advantage of the night, they also receive additional materials to weave. Under the talented hands of craftsmen, each weaving product has been "breathed into life" into beautiful, unique items bearing the mark of the hundreds of years old craft village. In recent years, the people here have been very active in finding new directions for the traditional profession. They not only produce goods to serve domestic needs but also export goods. During her free time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue often goes to Ms. Dinh Thi Nhu's bamboo and rattan weaving workshop to get raw materials. According to her, this is a part-time job but it helps her have a stable income of 4-6 million VND/month, depending on the number of products made. Not only that, people like her also contribute to preserving and developing the traditional craft of the locality. Ms. Pham Thi Huyen in Nam Dien commune (Nam Truc) has opened a garment factory for more than ten years. In addition to creating jobs for many female workers, she also creates jobs for many workers at home by picking up leftover threads. Although the income is not high, only 1.5-2 million VND/person/month, it helps women have a little extra income to cover their daily life.

Hopefully, there will be more and more production and business models developed, creating more jobs for many women during the off-season, helping them earn more income, contributing to improving their lives, changing careers, and solving employment according to the model of "leaving the countryside, not leaving the countryside".

Article and photos: Thanh Hoa