Flexible employment brings extra income to rural Taicang women

A new initiative of the Women’s Federation in Taicang is giving homemakers new ways to increase their income. Liu Danhong, general manager of a local paper products company, Huaxin, said: “Our rural housewives have to look after our senior citizens and children, but they do not have a single skill to secure employment. They thus often do some simple manual work in their free time, and get paid for each item, leading to a monthly income of between 1,000 yuan($163) and over 2,000 yuan.”

Liu started her business with her family in 2004, producing eco-friendly carrier bags for a Taiwan-funded company. As the business developed, her family could barely handle all the orders, and Liu thus hired residents of her village.

The work often involves completing part of the process in the workshop – and the rest at home.

Huang Weihua, an empty nester - is one such village resident whose children have left home. Her job with Liu’s company allows her to make about five to six hundred yuan per month.

“It is a good time killer for me. And it is great to make money from such a time killer,” said Huang.

Liu Danhong’s company has created jobs for more than 20 laid-off workers in her village and the business involves more than 200 people from over 50 households, with annual sales reaching more than eight million yuan.

The villagers come to Liu to ask for materials to make the products at home, and Liu hands out the materials and also checks the finished products herself.

These SOHO workers - which refers to “Small Office/Home Office”, a business that is operated out of a business owner’s residence and is sometimes located in an established office within the residence - can earn up to about2,000 yuan a month, and Liu hopes to attract more rural homemakers to join her – and is looking beyond her own village.

In the province, a total of five companies have a business model similar to Liu’s company, and the Jiangsu authorities has given three of these the right to employ r rural women, while the other two have received permission from the Suzhou municipal government. These companies enable a growing number of women in rural areas to increase their income.

But there are still many unemployed rural women in Taicang, and disabled or sick women could also make some extra income with such companies, said an official with the Women’s Federation.