A community livelihood project supported by Aide et Action in rural China brings improved income opportunities for women such as 48-year-old Mrs. Wang Qin.

Mrs. Wang, from Baijia Village, Qinshen County, Meishan City, Sichuan, was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis six years ago. Since then, she’s had to give up the heavy farm work she used to do and rely on her husband to earn enough money to keep the family afloat as well as cover the cost of her medication. 

Sadly, without his wife’s helping hands,  Mrs. Wang’s husband isn’t able to farm all the land they own. Instead they are now renting some of the farm which has resulted in a smaller income for the family. The cost of her medication combined with her inability to do work she used to do, is causing Mrs. Wang is a lot of stress.

However, thanks to a community livelihood project supported by Aide et Action, things are now looking up for Mrs. Wang. After visiting the village and speaking with locals, we learned that many women there were interested in taking up lantern-weaving in their free time to earn some extra money for their families. 

In May 2019, we launched our “Sister Community Workshop” which teaches bamboo-weaving skills to local women in the community. Among the first participants, was Mrs. Wang who picked up weaving very quickly.  As well as gaining new skills, the participants developed new friendships and we were very pleased to see Mrs. Wang smiling and laughing during the course and losing some of that stress that was causing her to worry. 

Mrs. Wang has now mastered bamboo lantern-weaving and her products have met industrial standards with she has already received orders from companies. Delighted with the outcome so far, Mrs. Wang says now plans to work from home and help reduce the household’s financial burden and take care of her family at the same time.