Female embroiders in Zhangye earn money at home

Female embroider teaches skills through online courses. [Photo by Wu Xuefeng for chinadaily.com.cn]

Han Xueqin said they have received more than 30,000 orders viainternet since the outbreak of the virus, and most of the orders are from Tibet. She allows employees complete orders in their own homes. If they want to clarify something, they can communicate via WeChat any time. By staying at home everyone can not only prevent the spread of the epidemic but also finish the work.

Pan Xiaohong, who works in Sunan County Arts and Crafts Studio, teaches staff members how to make handicrafts such as handmade beaded jewelry, folk embroidery, and wire flower weaving through online videos.

She said women staying at home can learn to make handmade products because most of them are familiar with the skills of needle and thread sewing. They can use their free time to make handicrafts at home, plus also generate income.

In order to ensure the stable employment and skilled training and the needs of job-seeking workers after the Spring Festival, Sunan County held an "Online Training Course for National Costume Cutting and Embroidery Workforce Skills" through Ding Talk live video and participate in "one-to-many" teaching and "one-to-one" answering to let women staying at home utilize their time better.

La Yanxia, chairman of the Sunan County Women's Federation, said ethnic handicrafts, as a traditional industry, have advantages such as large market demand, low input costs, low employment thresholds, and broad prospects for income growth.