People show their foods during the event "Mom's Taste."

After the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee concluded, on November 11, 2021, the women's federation of Fuyang District, in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, began organizing activities to help local women study the spirit of the plenary session. A group of 103 women — including cadres and outstanding women from all walks of life — have since visited government organs, schools, enterprises, villages and residential communities to outline what they have learned from the plenary session. "We know it is important to spread the spirit of the plenary session to people, especially to women, at the grassroots," says Sun Fulian, a cadre from the women's federation of Fuyang District.

Federation employees have conducted field research to support disadvantaged women and children who are coping with various difficulties. Sun helped organize an event, "Mom's Taste." The recurring event provides women with opportunities to demonstrate their cooking skills, and also with a platform for the women to broaden their horizons, communicate with each other, and develop the passion and confidence needed to start a business.

Cooking Unites Women

"Mom's Taste," launched in 2018, combines tasty foods and cooking skills with women's employment and business start-ups. To date, more than 1,500 activities have been organized under "Mom's Taste," and such events have made the program an important component of the rural revitalization strategy implemented by women's federations in Zhejiang.

The fifth "Mom's Taste" was held in April 2021, in Dongziguan, a village administered by Fuyang District. Women from across Zhejiang Province attended, and highlighted 40 kinds of tasty foods during the event. "We sold out more than 200 roast chickens, earning 20,000-plus yuan (US $3,077). We also received more than 300 orders in advance," recalled Li Lifen, a Hangzhou resident who attended the event for the first time.

Wang Junmei, from Huashan, a village in Kaihua County, in Quzhou, a city in western Zhejiang, won an award for her qigao (a kind of steamed cake, which is a traditional snack from Quzhou) in 2018, during the first "Mom's Taste." Wang said she inherited the qigao recipe and cooking method from her mother, but worried that people might not like her snack. Winning the award boosted her confidence. Many people have since called Wang by a nickname — "sister qigao." The following year, Wang opened a snack shop in Quzhou. She is proud to be leading a group of local women in creating wealth by cooking and managing their own businesses.

Fang Lili, born in 1994, is a college graduate whose hometown is Shengzhou, in eastern Zhejiang. She enjoys cooking small, steamed buns with fillings. Fang, with support from her local women's federation, participated in a "Mom's Taste" contest. Her steamed buns won her the "best popularity award."

The fifth "Mom's Taste" included an exhibition zone especially for attendees from other countries. The event not only highlighted various tasty foods, it also gave women opportunities to demonstrate their wisdom in cooking and in running a business.

Foods demonstrated during the event "Mom's Taste"

Moving Forward

During the "Mom's Taste" contest, women cadres, like Sun, realized the importance of improving the production and packaging of food products from Fuyang. The women's federation helped managers of small workshops refine their plants; as such, they transformed old, shabby food plants into modern factories, with much cleaner work environments and more advanced equipment.

"In the near future, we, who work in women's federations at the grassroots, will follow the guidance of the plenary session, and we will take practical measures to guide our people, especially local women, in following our Party's leadership. We will work together to move toward the goal of achieving common wealth. We will continue studying and exploring traditional culture and techniques, providing women with a promising future for their self-development, and contributing women's wisdom and strength in the advancement of rural revitalization," Sun concludes.

Foods demonstrated during the event "Mom's Taste"

Photos Supplied by  the Interviewee

(Women of China English Monthly January 2022 issue)