Hundreds of thousands of women are finding jobs and earning a decent salary thanks to the development of women’s special cooperatives in the northwestern province of Shaanxi.

More than 100 women cooperatives have been established in nine counties in the province following pilot programs by New Zealand and China Association of Friendship in 2011.

For example, the province now has 15 pilot bases and 300 cooperatives that provide jobs in handicrafts to nearly 200,000 women in urban and rural areas. The jobs pay 8,000 yuan a year.

According to statistics, more than 600 special cooperatives were providing jobs to 300,000 women in the northwestern province of Shaanxi by the end of 2012.