“Having income, more understanding, being listened to and active in the cooperative's activities, I am also more confident to contribute my voice in collective work that I rarely participated in before.”
“All 24 members want to try to find a new solution and direction for the cooperative. Everyone participates in the planning, and together we visit another model to learn and experiment until we succeed!”, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Lam - member of Thuan Phat cooperative (district) An Minh, Kien Giang province) - excitedly sharing about the initiative "Make fish cakes from locally available materials".
The initiative was initiated by Ms. Lam and other female workers in the cooperative to take advantage of the abundant local tilapia resources together increase income for cooperative members, and enhance the brand name of Thuan Phat Cooperative.
“The first batches did not produce good quality, it was also very frustrating! Because I have no experience and chose an inappropriate water source, I also did not know how to use machines to support or add spices, ... ". However, Ms. Lam and the production team did not give up, together testing each stage and evaluating errors to find a way to overcome. In addition, members also actively adapted successful models to learn from experience in production and packaging on how to manage input costs or find output markets.
Although she has never had experience in making fish cakes to sell to the market, and at the same time, she has to make time for taking care of her family and of the available livelihood, Ms. Lam and the sisters at Thuan Phat Cooperative consider the initiative as an opportunity to develop personally and collectively.
Thuan Phat Cooperative participates in the Shrimp - Rice value chain, under the project "Strengthening gender equality and responsible agribusiness investment in Southeast Asia" (GRAISEA) phase 2.
Together with partners @Icafis, @RECERD, @MCD Vietnam, the GRAISEA 2 project aims to strengthen the economic role of women and the interests of small-scale producers through the promotion of responsible business practices. responsibilities of businesses and stakeholders.