Women renewing traditional professions

Enhancing the value of commercial silkworms from Luong land

Recently, the house of Ms. Mai Thi Loan (born in 1969) in Hamlet 3, Dang Son Commune, Do Luong District has become a familiar address for traders when they want to buy unique products such as silkworm powder, silkworm eggs, commercial silkworms or silkworm wine.

Although silkworm farming is a long-standing traditional profession in Dang Son, Ms. Loan has come up with new and creative ways to bring in a high and stable income from silkworms.

Next to the neatly arranged golden silk baskets, Ms. Mai Thi Loan said that this used to be her biggest concern when the silkworm farming profession gradually faded away in Dang Son land.

With the desire to restore the once-glorious Xuan Nhu silk-spinning craft village, in 2021, she boldly decided to build her own production facility, specializing in growing mulberry, raising silkworms and reeling silk. While in the past, mulberry growers and silkworm breeders still had the mindset of doing small-scale business, she was determined to create an abundant supply source for the consumer market. Therefore, she purchased silkworms and pupae from households in the commune, and at the same time provided silkworm breeds for the breeders to expand the model.

By 2022, with the support ofWomen's UnionDang Son commune, the mulberry growing and silkworm raising cooperative was established with 15 members, Ms. Mai Thi Loan was trusted to be the group leader. That was the premise for her to continue investing in expanding 3 hectares of mulberry land, purchasing modern machinery and building a closed silkworm raising room.

In 2023, her Silkworm Cooperative was officially established with many new directions to enhance the value of traditional craft products.

If in the past, silkworm farming models were mainly for cocoons, Ms. Loan's cooperative continues to open up new directions such as raising silkworms for food and producing products that the market is "thirsty" for from silkworms.

Thanks to investment in technology, the cooperative can raise silkworms all year round. The secret to coping with Nghe An's harsh weather in the summer is to equip the silkworm rearing area with air conditioning and a water fan system. Thanks to that, the temperature is always maintained at an ideal level of 26-28°C. In winter, the rearing room is equipped with a heating system, ensuring stable silkworm growth and high productivity.

Along with that, the cooperative focuses on diversifying silkworm products to have unique items such as commercial silkworms, silkworm powder and silkworm wine... These products have had a stable consumer market, contributing to solving employment for 15 local workers with an average income of 5 million VND/month per person. Thanks to modern silkworm farming, Ms. Loan not only preserves the traditional profession but also increases her income.

Spreading sustainable ways to get rich from raising deer

Realizing that when epidemics continuously occur in pigs, buffaloes, cows or poultry, deer still proves to be a safe, low-risk and highly effective livestock, Ms. Truong Thi Kim (born in 1963) in village 7, Quynh Nghia commune, Quynh Luu district has determined to stick with the deer farming model to develop the family economy.

Ms. Kim said that in the past, her family mainly focused on agricultural production and small-scale livestock farming, and her husband participated in fishing but the annual income was not high. In 2004, when she witnessed traders coming in and out of Quynh Luu district to buy antlers, she understood that this was a livestock with a stable consumption market. Through studying deer farming models in the locality, she realized that as long as she understood its characteristics, deer were livestock that were very easy to care for, bringing economic efficiency and were not susceptible to diseases.

At that time, the price of deer was not too high, only fluctuating around 1.5 million VND. Therefore, Ms. Kim invested in raising 10 sika deer for velvet. In 2013, when the Provincial Women's Union had a Plan to establish a Cooperative for raising sika deer in the commune, she applied to join the Cooperative.

This is an important step for Ms. Kim to research and learn about high-value deer farming models in and outside the locality. At the same time, participating in scientific and technical training courses has helped her "renew" her profession in the stages of improving barns, improving planting techniques and producing deer feed to help reduce raising costs while ensuring the quality of the deer herd.

In addition, with the attention of the Women's Union at all levels, the District Social Policy Bank, and members of the cooperative, Ms. Kim's family was able to access a loan to create jobs from the Social Policy Bank with an amount of 50 million VND to invest in and expand the barn to develop in two parallel directions: raising deer for antlers and raising deer for breeding to sell breeds.

To date, Ms. Kim's model has grown the herd to 28 pigs, with an annual income of 200 - 250 million VND/year. The model has also created jobs for 4 workers, including 2 female workers with an income of 5 million VND/person/month.

Not only contributing to the development of deer breeding in Quynh Nghia commune, she also supports members of the cooperative to gain more experience in breeding and is always ready to share the knowledge she has accumulated to help people adapt to new market fluctuations. In 2023, Ms. Kim was one of the outstanding individuals recognized and rewarded by the Women's Union of Quynh Nghia commune.

On a provincial level, in recent years, through many emulation movements and creative solutions, Nghe An women have had many bright spots in creative start-ups, economic development, and sustainable poverty reduction. In particular, the effective implementation of the Project "Supporting women to start a business in the period 2017-2025" approved by the Government has created a big push for women.