The "sideways turn" of a teacher returning to his hometown to raise worms in Thanh Hoa

Because his teaching job was far from home and did not guarantee a living income, Mr. Pham Van Tinh (in Thanh Hoa) decided to "change jobs" and return to his hometown to collect cow dung to raise earthworms.

Quitting his job to raise earthworms. When you come to Tho Son commune, Trieu Son district (Thanh Hoa), ask Mr. Pham Van Tinh, everyone will know him, because he is a typical example of good economic performance in the locality, with the earthworm raising model. Currently, his model is creating jobs for dozens of workers and earning hundreds of millions of VND in profit each year.

Former teacher Pham Van Tinh with the earthworm farming model. Photo: Quach Du

Sharing about his earthworm farming model, Mr. Pham Van Tinh said that more than 10 years ago, when he was a teacher at the Continuing Education Center of Quan Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province (about 200km from home), he decided to quit his job and return to his hometown to learn how to raise earthworms. “Actually, before making the above decision, I considered quite a lot, because the teaching job was far from home, the income was low and could not ensure a living. Then by chance I learned about the earthworm farming model through books and newspapers, which could bring in a high income. Immediately after that, I quit my teaching job and returned to my hometown to learn how to raise earthworms,” Mr. Tinh shared. According to Mr. Tinh, when he learned that he would quit teaching, his family and friends gave him a lot of advice, however, after he explained, everyone somewhat understood and supported him. After quitting his teaching job and returning to his hometown, in early 2008, he packed his bags and went to the southern provinces to learn how to raise earthworms. After a few months of studying, he returned to his hometown and decided to mortgage his land use right to borrow money from the bank (more than 200 million VND) and started building a worm farm on his family's 300m2 plot of land. Earning hundreds of millions The worm farming business was initially successful, when a few months later, he produced the first "batch" of worms. He thought the business would be "smooth sailing", but difficulties began because he could not find a place to sell the worms. "For 4 years, I kept running back and forth to find a market for worms, all my capital, even borrowing money, I put it all into worms, but the more I worked, the more I lost" - Mr. Tinh recalled.

To achieve the success he has today, Mr. Pham Van Tinh has traveled to many places to learn experiences and search for markets. Photo: Quach Du

Determined not to be discouraged, Mr. Tinh traveled everywhere to find markets to sell. For earthworm products, he went to shrimp farms to introduce, and for organic fertilizer products from earthworm farming, he went to clean vegetable farms. By the end of 2012, his efforts were rewarded, when some shrimp and organic vegetable farms began to order and buy his products. After more than a decade of effort, Mr. Tinh's earthworm farm has now expanded to about 1,000m2, supplying products (including earthworms and organic fertilizer) to markets throughout the provinces from the South to the North. On average, each year, Mr. Tinh produces 2 crops of earthworms and produces products such as fresh worms, dried worms and organic fertilizer. The current selling price of fresh earthworms ranges from 35,000 to 40,000 VND/kg, dried earthworms from 200,000 to 300,000 VND/kg, the supply market is shrimp and fish farms. In addition, after harvesting earthworms, Mr. Tinh's farm also collects organic fertilizer products to sell to farms and gardeners for clean vegetables.

Currently, Mr. Tinh continues to develop the mud-free eel farming model, purchasing products for a number of other households. Photo: Quach Du

In addition to raising earthworms, Mr. Tinh is currently developing a model of raising eels without mud and purchasing output for about 15 local farms. According to Mr. Tinh, the above models have brought him a profit of about 500 million VND per year. According to Mr. Le Trung Kien - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Tho Son Commune, Trieu Son District, Mr. Pham Van Tinh is a typical example of a young man who is good at doing business in the locality. His model not only brings high economic efficiency but also creates jobs for nearly 10 local workers. Currently, the locality is also promoting and encouraging people to learn and do this model to develop the economy.

Laodong.vn