Weaving cogon grass and planting aloe vera to help women escape poverty

Born and raised in Muong land, Nguyen Thi Bay in Muong Bi commune has had a hobby of knitting and embroidery since childhood. In 1998, she went to Hanoi to learn the craft and after only 3 months, she mastered all the techniques. Returning to her hometown, during the off-season, she gathered women to teach her craft and received raw materials from Hanoi for her sisters to process. Thanks to this, many sisters have extra income and do not have to leave home to make a living.

Growing aloe vera helps many women in Toan Thang commune escape poverty.

With the desire to develop the sustainable bamboo and rattan weaving profession, Ms. Bay realized that she could not do the processing work forever. In 2013, she boldly established Luong Phu Agricultural Service Cooperative with 13 participating households. To find an outlet for her products, she sold both of her scooters to have money to find suppliers. Although she encountered many difficulties, with defective and damaged goods having to compensate for losses, seeing her sisters having jobs and income, all her fatigue disappeared.

In 2020, after switching to producing cogon grass products, the women's income increased significantly and was more stable than before. When the cooperative began to operate stably, she discovered that she had breast cancer. The door to life seemed to close before her eyes. But the only hope left was the will to live. She told herself to live well to be a support for hundreds of women who were waiting for her.

Despite the pain, she still works as a wickerworker and connects with suppliers to maintain employment for her sisters. Her passion for work and optimism have helped her overcome her illness. Over the past few years, she has helped hundreds of families in Cao Phong, Tan Lac, Mai Chau, and Lac Son communes find jobs and earn an income of 3-6 million VND/month.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bay has exported the weaving profession to create jobs for women in rural and mountainous areas.

After the weaving profession stabilized, Ms. Bay was always anxious to find ways to help people increase their income. Once in Ninh Thuan , she saw that people growing aloe vera had a stable income. She was determined to learn and bring aloe vera to grow in Phu Tho.

Although many people advised against it because this was a plant that had never been grown locally and feared that she would collapse if she failed, she was not discouraged. At the end of 2022, her cooperative joined with BioBee Viet Phap Joint Stock Company, becoming a pioneer in bringing aloe vera to grow in Muong land. Currently, aloe vera has been deployed on an area of ​​more than 25 hectares with nearly 100 households participating.

Aloe vera is easy to grow, has few diseases, and is suitable for hilly land. Plants planted once can be harvested for many years. One hectare can grow 50,000 plants and from the 4th batch onwards, each batch can yield 50-60 tons of leaves. With a fixed purchase price of 2,000 VND/kg, each batch earns around 100 million VND/ha. Thanks to its stable output, aloe vera has brought in a significant source of income for the people.

The story of Ms. Nguyen Thi Bay is a testament to the fact that perseverance, determination and compassion can create great values. From a woman passionate about knitting, she has become a support for hundreds of rural women; not only solving the problem of employment but also contributing to improving life, reducing poverty and developing the local economy . With her achievements, in 2024, she was honored as an “Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer”.

Viet Lam

Source: https://baophutho.vn/dan-co-tranh-trong-nha-dam-giup-phu-nu-thoat-ngheo-238136.htm