China Daily Global Edition (USA)
3 older women find joy in their shared career
Three women from Hunan province are proving they can have a career even approaching age 60.
Zhou Xiaojiao, Luo Qiulan and Tan Baxiang made a big decision five years ago to rent land in their village to plant jujube trees.
They had to overcome a lot of skepticism, starting with Zhou’s husband, who told her that the job would require a big investment of time and labor but in the end might not make any money. So why bother?
Neighbors, likewise, showed no sympathy.
“They think that at our age, it’s time to enjoy the fun of getting together with our families,” said Zhou, 57.
“I just want to show that women can achieve something, even at our age, as long as they work hard.”
The three became good friends gradually after their marriages in 1987 in Dongtou village of Chaling county, Hunan. They did farm work together, and would invite each other to meals at home. Having children of similar ages, they also discussed family issues.
Luo’s personality is straightforward; Tan is more reserved, Zhou said.
In 2017, Zhou, who had spent 18 years making shoes in Zhejiang province, returned to Dongtou. She was struck by the amount of arable land in her village that wasn’t being used.
Such a waste, she thought. Zhou reconnected with the other two women, who had been working in Dongtou, and they all agreed to try a new venture. They invested 200,000 yuan ($31,390) from their savings and rented 6.7 hectares to start their new career.
“Since we rented the land from the local government, what to plant was not up to us,” Zhou said. “Jujube was a local specialty years ago, and both we and the government want to make it a local brand again.”
Although they had gained a lot of farming experience in past years, the three encountered a number of difficulties in planting jujube trees. Labor, technology and money were the most challenging.
In the first year, lacking enough money to buy machinery, they planted saplings by hand. The young trees alone had cost almost all their money.
In the second year, a lack of knowledge resulted in a low yield. They needed more zinc in the soil.
To make up for the loss, the three decided to buy 4,000 young chickens, whose droppings can act as fertilizer. But they faced a setback: Hundreds of the chicks died during transport, and more died in hot weather.
“I blamed myself because I had suggested buying the chicks,” Zhou said.
But her friends did not complain and even comforted her. They told her “it is normal to make mistakes the first time”.
In 2020, the third year, things seemed to be going smoothly. The trees were bearing abundant, sweet fruit.
Then heavy rain arrived. In early September, storms hit the fruit hard before the harvest. Many trees were damaged.
They shared the situation online and received kind suggestions from others.
“We registered a cooperative named Lidama in the county so that we can apply for government funding and accept investors,” Zhou said.
The three agreed that no matter how hard the challenges become, they will not complain but watch out for each other.
Last year, the fourth year of their planting career, Zhou said her daughter — who was living in Guangdong province — was having a baby and needed her help.
“We will take care of the jujube garden. You can just go to take care of your daughter,” Luo and Tan told her.
Marketing issues arose after a good harvest last fall. Unfamiliar with e-commerce platforms, the women transported their jujubes to local markets and households.
“We decided to register our own brand this year to make it more famous,” Zhou said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had little impact since their jujube garden is located deep in mountains far from cities. What matters more is weather.
“The jujubes depend heavily on weather and cannot stand heavy rain or drought,” Zhou said. “The good-looking ones can be sold for 20 to 30 yuan per gram; the ugly ones bring only 5 or 6 yuan per gram.”
After nearly five years of hard working, the three partners have yet to turn a profit.
“Starting an undertaking is not easy and it is even harder in the agriculture sector,” Zhou said.
“I can easily make 3,000 or 4,000 yuan if I got a job in a town or county, but that would be less challenging and fun.”
It is the uncertainty and their love of the land that drive Zhou and her friends to stick with their project.
“Our jujubes are purely organic and this year’s fruit will be on the market around September,” Zhou said.