Getting rich by making nets

Not only did she escape poverty and get rich through net production, Le Thi Hieu (born in 1975, residing in Ngoc Diem village, Ninh Ich commune, Ninh Hoa town) also created jobs for 30 local workers.

At the age of 16, Hieu and her brother came to Khanh Hoa province from Binh Dinh province. At the age of 18, she got married. After that, she and her husband boldly used their savings and borrowed more to invest in aquaculture. Initially, her family raised lobsters, then raised cobia, groupers... Thanks to hard work, they had money to pay off debt, take care of their children's education and build a house. Along with that, seeing local people making nets to go fishing, she learned and practiced following. 

Hieu said: "People make nets to mainly serve their own fishing. But I think it is necessary to expand production to sell to the market, while preserving traditional local occupations." In 2004, she and her husband started making handmade nets and selling them to people in need in the village and province.

Hieu gets rich by making nets.

Net production in the early stages faced many difficulties, but because of her passion and desire to preserve the traditional craft and earn more income, she was still determined to do it. From customers’ feedback, she thought and found ways to improve the product better and better. Thanks to product quality, more and more customers came to us. That was also the motivation for her to continue pursuing her career. To produce products with better productivity and quality, in 2010, she went to the West to learn how to make nets by machine. After returning, she opened a factory of about 300 square meters and imported 4 lead stamping machines. Thanks to that, production capacity increased and the business gradually developed.

In 2018, she continued to invest in a factory with an area of 200 square meters and 11 machines. The main products were fish nets, crab nets, and squid nets of many different sizes. Each month, the facility sold from 500 to 1,000 nets of all kinds, with prices ranging from 300,000 VND to 2 million VND/net. After deducting expenses, her family earned about 30 million VND/month. In addition to the provincial market, the facility's net products are also sold in many places throughout the country such as Phu Yen, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Vung Tau, Ninh Thuan, northern provinces... 

Currently, the net factory creates jobs for 30 local workers, half of whom are female, with an income of 8 to 15 million VND/person/month. 

Not only is she good at economics, Hieu is also a core member of the commune's Women's Union. She and the women in the village cook vegetarian rice to support people in difficult circumstances on the full moon day and the first day of the lunar month; participate in cleaning village roads and alleys; participate in fitness and sports clubs... contributing to a better life. 

According to Dang Thi Thuy Ha, Chairwoman of Ninh Ich Commune Women's Union, Hieu is a typical example of doing good business, motivating many local women to strive to excel. She is also very active in participating in women's movement activities…

Chau Tuong
Translated by T.T