During the past two years, the Raise Her Business Plan — Mother's Entrepreneurship Recycling Fund, under China Women's Development Foundation (CWDF), has rolled out 23 parallel public-welfare initiatives, which cover specialty agriculture and breeding, rural tourism, green handicrafts, the inheritance and development of intangible cultural heritage, in Gansu, Ningxia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Yunnan, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Anhui to create more business opportunities for women and forge fresh momentum for the sustainable development of the regions.
In northwestern China's Gansu Province, the fund has supported the further development of farming, food processing and embroidery crafts . With the introduction of "agricultural bases plus rural households" in the purchase and processing of farm produces and animal breeding, Huining County has successfully bolstered the production scale of its vegetable and meat processing industries, expanded the production lines of chili sauce, added more high-quality agricultural trademarks, and provided 74 women with stable jobs. Wushan County has come up with an embroidery business model of "enterprises, workshops and embroiderers" to foster 35 women into professional embroiderers and help more women increase their family incomes.
Under the support of the fund, women in northwestern China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region have chased their business dream and opened a new chapter in the fields of traditional farming, green techniques and intangible cultural heritage. The cultivation of greenhouse melons and vegetables has created more business opportunities and driven up their annual incomes. The integration of vocational training and e-commerce has nurtured new growth points and sources of income for practitioners in the fields of green packaging, embroidery and intangible cultural heritage.
The fund has closely followed the actual demands of women living with difficulties in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province, provided them with financial aids, and further stimulated their enthusiasm in the fields of edible mushroom and soybean farming and the processing of vegetables. Statistics show that the implementation of relevant sub-projects has helped five beneficiary counties increase their incomes by over three million yuan (US $422,535) and created entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for about 250 local women.
The fund has added fresh stimulus to the development of five agricultural and cultural tourism projects in northeastern China's Jilin Province. Thanks to relevant support in capital, technical training and order-oriented cooperation, 95 women villagers have ushered in a bright chapter in their plantation of organic and high-quality rice and the management of family farms. Meanwhile, the renovation of tourism facilities and the special cultural-tourism experience programs have attracted a large number of tourists, created new consumption engines, aroused visitors' interest in the culture of Korean ethnic group, and promoted the coordinated development of other industries.
The fund has helped 34 women residents at Yunfeng Village of Lincang, a city in southwestern China's Yunnan Province increase their homestay business scale and driven the development of farming, breeding and catering industries. Its supportive training has elevated local rural revitalization-oriented tourism to a new height and fostered many high-caliber farmers as well as businesswomen.
Thirty-two women farmers from Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have benefited much from the fund, which increases their rice-crab integrated farming and gets them involved in modern agriculture. The collaboration with research institutions has made the cultivation of pear seedlings more scientific and intelligent, enhanced the utilization efficiency of land, and achieved fruitful results in the ecological, economic and social sectors.
The fund has provided agricultural cooperatives in Wuhu, a city in eastern China's Anhui Province with assistance in the purchase of potted vegetable seedlings and agricultural products. Farmers have been guided to engage in standardized production and sales, and 35 women attended training in the further enhancement of their farming skills. At the same time, women beneficiaries have become proactively involved in rural governance and raised their family status.
Data shows that the fund has allocated 18.1 million yuan (US $2.55 million), from 2024-2025, to directly benefit 898 rural women and their families and increase their average household income by more than 16,200 yuan (US $2,314). These women have realized their entrepreneurship and employment dream, earned more money and inspired over 4,000 rural residents to strive for a prosperous life.
Photos from CWDF
(Source: CWDF / Women of China)
Editor: Lei Yang
