Breakthrough from familiar agricultural products

In Ham Thuan commune (Lam Dong), local people often mention Ms. Nguyen Hoang Thu Huong, Director of Hoa Le Clean Dragon Fruit Cooperative, who has devoted her youth to "raising the level" of her hometown dragon fruit with diverse and creative processed products.

From classroom to dragon fruit processing factory

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Thu Huong, Director of Hoa Le Clean Dragon Fruit Cooperative (yellow shirt) with the desire to increase the value of dragon fruit trees

Before leading the cooperative, Ms. Thu Huong was a teacher, born in 1982, famous for her dexterity, diligence and love of cuisine . But her greatest passion is still dragon fruit, an agricultural product associated with the childhood and life of many generations in Ham Thuan.

Cake products made from dragon fruit at Hoa Le Cooperative

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic caused thousands of tons of dragon fruit to be congested and unable to be exported, causing difficulties for farmers. Faced with this situation, Ms. Huong decided to temporarily put aside her teaching career and research deep processing right in her family kitchen. Initially, products such as cookies, jams, ice cream or wine all failed, but she persevered in testing each recipe and how to handle waste. Ms. Huong said: “Dragon fruit can be used for more things than we think. Why let it go to waste?”

Ice cream products made from dragon fruit

From that perseverance, nearly 20 products were born, including fresh cream, cookies, candies, flower tea, wine, juice, essential oil from dragon fruit seeds... Each product is the result of many experiments and innovations.

Enhancing the value of dragon fruit

Mr. Dang Ngoc Anh, a resident of Na Boi village, Ham Thuan commune

Mr. Dang Ngoc Anh, a resident of Na Boi village (Ham Thuan commune) shared that: Since Ms. Huong's cooperative was established, farmers in the area "have less worry about bad harvests and low prices". When the export market is difficult, the processing facilities have kept the purchase price stable, helping people feel secure in taking care of their gardens.

For Ms. Mai Thi Hoai Van, President of the Women's Union of Ham Thuan commune, the success of this model is not only an economic story but also a source of inspiration for many local women.

Hoa Le dragon fruit products regularly participate in fairs and exhibitions.

To have a source of qualified raw materials, Ms. Huong and her team mobilized farmers to convert farming to good agricultural practices. The cooperative currently has nearly 60 members, manages more than 200 hectares of dragon fruit according to GAP standards, supplies 8,000 - 10,000 tons per year for export, and processes about 1,000 tons in the factory, creating jobs for 50 - 100 workers, mostly women.

Ms. Thu Huong (in yellow ao dai) was awarded a certificate of merit by the Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee.

The efforts of Ms. Huong and the cooperative are recognized through: 17 3- and 4-star OCOP products, 5 typical rural industrial products at the provincial level, 3 typical products at the regional level, and the second prize in the contest "Women starting a business, promoting local potential" in 2023. She also proactively updates consumer trends, innovates designs and puts products on digital platforms, turns waste products such as dragon fruit seeds into valuable essential oils, or processes flower tea and wine from dragon fruit.

Therefore, she was recently awarded a certificate of merit by the Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee and the Minister of Agriculture and Environment for her outstanding achievements in production and business activities contributing to local economic development; and for her outstanding achievements in implementing patriotic emulation movements in the period 2021-2025.

From fresh dragon fruit to nearly 20 products with full flavors and shades, meeting the increasingly demanding market.

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I don’t think I’m doing anything big. I just want my dragon fruit to never lose its value and never go to waste. If I’m committed to it, I have to make it more beautiful and better.

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Thu Huong shared

Behind that simple saying is a journey full of effort: from initial failures to OCOP-standard products; from small processing workshops to cooperatives with dozens of members; from fresh dragon fruit to nearly 20 products with a variety of flavors and shades, meeting the increasingly demanding market. All carry Ms. Huong's dream, the dream of "raising the level of local specialties", bringing Ham Thuan dragon fruit further and more sustainably.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/but-pha-tu-nong-san-quen-thuoc-405290.html