The moment of silence in the pineapple field and the female lecturer's decision to start a business

Vietnamese natural pineapple fiber has been present in many countries. Few people expected that the entrepreneurial journey of a university lecturer would start from the image of pineapple leaves writhing and dying in the fire in the field.

Looking at the layers of leaves gradually burning, lecturer Vu Thi Lieu (Head of the Environment Department at the Faculty of Environment of Hanoi University of Business and Technology) wondered: Are the lesson plans and scientific research projects in the classroom becoming meaningless when they end?

That was the moment that inspired the idea of ​​​​Eco Fiber Research and Development Joint Stock Company (Ecosoi), Ms. Vu Thi Lieu - Founder and CEO of Ecosoi - shared with VietNamNet reporter .

Path of chemicals

- Why did the image of the burning pineapple field lead you to a new direction in your career?

Ms. Vu Thi Lieu: I participated in a number of projects related to toxic chemicals of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (formerly). After many field trips, I deeply understood their impact on the ecosystem and human health.

In 2020, during a business trip to Thach Thanh district (old), Thanh Hoa province, I saw farmers burning pineapple fields, the smoke billowing. I asked them why they were burning pineapple leaves like straw. The answer was that they did not know what to do with this agricultural by-product. Therefore, after harvesting the fruit, the field owner hired workers to mill the pineapple leaves, dry them, and burn them right in the field.

Ms. Vu Thi Lieu and products from pandan leaves.

For many farmers with 20-30 hectares of pineapple plantations, the task is not simple. Too many pineapple leaves need to be burned. People want to reduce the cost of manual labor so they spray weed killer. A week after spraying, the grass dries up and farmers just need to light it on fire.

People calmly mentioned the method above but I shuddered. The drug has been banned for a long time but people still buy it to use.

The farmer may only see the air pollution from burning pandan leaves. But I see the death of microorganisms in the soil under the layer of burnt herbicide. The result is that the land becomes increasingly barren, resulting in low crop yields.

Not to mention, when the rains fall, all the chemicals from the herbicides left in the soil will seep into the groundwater or flow into surface water (rivers, lakes...). From here, those chemicals affect the health of local residents, even residents of neighboring areas.

For other agricultural by-products such as vegetable shoots, people can pile them up to compost, but pandan leaves are long, tough and fibrous, so if you want to compost them, you have to grind them. Therefore, people choose to burn them to save time.

At that moment, I stood still, looking at the pineapple field. I asked myself, where is the environmental knowledge in teaching, or in scientific research projects going? It seems that when I close the page of pedagogical lesson plans, everything will close as well. There is no practical solution applied to solve the environmental problem.

Farmers harvest pandan leaves.

I picked a fresh pandan leaf from the ground and broke it in half. Then, I saw the pineapple fibers inside. That was the moment I knew I needed to start a business. Ecosoi was founded in March 2021.

Barriers to start-ups

- What was the entrepreneurial journey of a lecturer like?

Mixed feelings. Before embarking on the project of producing natural pandan fiber, I visited the raw material areas in the North, Central and South regions. I estimate that Vietnam wastes about 2-3 million tons of pandan leaves per year, or even much more.

On the other hand, textile is one of the backbone industries of Vietnam but a large proportion of raw fiber is imported from abroad. Why don’t we produce our own fiber, taking advantage of natural materials to supply the domestic textile industry?

However, the reality is different. I want to sell more products to the domestic market, but Ecosoi's current customers are all foreign partners. It seems that they are more concerned about climate change and sustainable development. Domestic consumers need more time to feel and change their consumption behavior.

We are supplying the market with about 60 tons of pineapple fiber/year, equivalent to 4,000 tons of processed pineapple leaves. Ecosoi's pineapple fiber and fiber are available in 8 countries; of which, Japan, Korea, China are the 3 main consumer markets.

Pineapple fibers are dried after washing.

The partners need to research what products can be made from this natural fiber. The next step is to make a test product to test the market reaction. After that process, the partners decide to place an order. Since pandan fiber is still very new, we still depend a lot on the market.

- Looking at the still modest consumption output, do you feel discouraged with your choice to start a business?

I am not discouraged, but I see clearly two difficulties that the company is facing. That is financial difficulty. The fiber business needs a large amount of investment capital.

In particular, new fibers must go through each step of research, which costs time and money. If the research results are not successful, the company must redo or give up. With limited start-up capital, we are lucky to have investors interested in the project.

The level of market absorption will determine the survival of the enterprise. Even if the company owns a new product, a product that is very environmentally friendly, if consumers do not accept it, it will be a burden. To make natural fibers more popular, there must be pioneering enterprises in leading and educating market awareness.

Besides, the price of products made from pandan leaf fibers can be twice as expensive as other traditional products, while the fiber properties are not much different. This is a big barrier.

- With just the environmentally friendly feature, what makes you think consumers are willing to pay more for products made from pandan leaf fibers?

Rapidly rising temperatures, melting ice at the poles or extreme climate patterns... Everything is no longer a warning but a reality. That is why countries are calling for sustainable development, joining hands to protect the environment by using products that create less emissions.

Pandan leaf fiber products at an event in Ho Chi Minh City.

For example, a pair of shoes costs 80 USD, you use it and it breaks but you don’t want to throw it away because you feel guilty to society. You take it to a recycling company and ask them to redesign a new pair from old materials. At this time, even though you have to pay up to 320 USD (4 times more) for a new pair of shoes, consumers in developed countries still accept it. That is their lifestyle.

This shows that when awareness of sustainable development is ingrained, consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products.

The Philippines is the first country in the world to make fabric from pandan leaves. This fabric product is called piña, and is completely handmade. If converted to Vietnamese currency, a piña shirt is worth up to hundreds of millions of dong and Filipinos only wear it on special occasions.

However, if Ecosoi does it that way, it will not solve the environmental problem, because the consumption output is difficult to reach a high level. Instead, we want to widely popularize pandan fiber material to consumers. The company has instructed farmers in key raw material areas such as Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh... on how to effectively harvest pineapple fiber, at the same time transferring the fiber stripping process and purchasing all products.

Although we are a very small business in the market, we clearly understand the value we are pursuing. Since the start-up idea, Ecosoi has been steadfast in its viewpoint: not to plant new pineapple fields, not to encroach on land resources. We take advantage of existing pineapple fields, joining hands to solve the problem of agricultural by-products.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/giay-phut-chet-lang-tren-dong-dua-va-quyet-dinh-khoi-nghiep-cua-nu-giang-vien-2437284.html