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Home-based job benefits poor women in Ben Tre

Strong, durable, and reusable, tote bag is becoming a popular choice of shoppers nowadays. Day by day, those eco-friendly products are being produced by diligent home-based worker like Ms. Vo Thi Ngoc Trinh (Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province).

A bag made by Trinh.

Ms.Trinh is a resident of Loc Thanh hamlet, Loc Thuan commune. She is married and has a 7-year-old daughter. Trinh’s husband is a mason, who often travel far from home to work. For a woman who has to balance between her income-earning activities alongside childcare and domestic responsibilities like Trinh, a home-based job is the most suitable choice.

“As a member of a local Microcredit group, I got access to a loan worth VND 7 million (~EUR 270) to purchase a sewing machine. Thank to it, I started working from home as a tote bags maker since 2020”, Trinh said, while putting together pieces of cloth and carefully stiches.

Trinh has been outsourced by a local factory through an intermediary. Every week, the intermediary visits her one to two times, to collect the finished products and supply extra materials. The money Trinh earned depends on the quantity of products she completes.

“On average, I make around VND 80,000 – 100,000 each day (VND 2.4 million to 3 million per month).

“Working from home allows me to earn some money while still can manage to do chores and take my daughter to school”, said Trinh.

“The income earned by my husband and me is just enough for us make end meets. My daughter is at grade one of primary school now, hence the expense has increased, as we have to pay for tuition fee, textbook and stationery, etc.”

Ms.Trinh and her daughter

“I don’t think we will have more kids, as I’m afraid that we cannot afford to raise them”, Trinh said.

“At the moment, my husband and I just want to save enough money to renovate this house, especially the kitchen, it is too shanty”, she said./.

Trinh wants to save enough to renovate her shanty house.
  • The Micro Credit and Saving project in Binh Dai district was launched by MCNV and sponsors in 2009.
  • In 2020, the project has been expanded to 11 communes and townships, including Binh Dai township, thanks to the funding of Microcredit for Mothers (MfM) foundation.
  • The project has been expanded to 11 communes and townships, providing financial services and facilitate socio-economic inclusion for over 5,000 disadvantaged and poor women, supporting household economy development, response to saltwater intrusion and new rural development.
  • Nowadays, the project has become financially self-sustained, and is being conducted with the permission of the State Bank of Vietnam, Ben Tre provincial branch.