Sow the seeds from the tea tree, bear fruit with faith

Having worked on tea plantations for many years, Ms. Dang Thi Binh, a Muong ethnic in Luong Son commune (Yen Lap district, Phu Tho), has cherished the desire to contribute to creating sustainable livelihoods for local women, helping them to “live” with tea. She has realized her dream by establishing the “Da Trang Green Tea Cooperative”, becoming the nucleus to inspire the entrepreneurial spirit of local women.

Dare to think, dare to do

Growing up in a poor family in My Luong commune (Yen Lap district, Phu Tho ), Ms. Dang Thi Binh was accustomed to working day and night in rice fields and tea plantations. After getting married, her parents gave her and her husband 3 sao of rice fields, 3 sao of tea fields and one hectare of forest land to build their own lives.

Determined not to let their children repeat the vicious cycle of poverty, she and her husband worked hard and saved to raise their two children to be successful in their studies. But no matter how diligent they were, their small-scale, fragmented way of working still made life difficult for their family.

People in the area mainly sell fresh tea, each person sells for their own benefit, prices are unstable, and local brands are almost unknown. Ms. Binh realized that if she wanted to change her life, she could not continue farming in the style of "selling whatever she produces", she had to organize production, processing, and building a brand.

In 2015, with the consensus of the whole family, she decided to establish the "Da Trang Green Tea Cooperative". Initially, the model only had a few households participating, following the old method, without supporting machinery. But Ms. Binh was not discouraged.

Ms. Binh is roasting tea.

She talked to each person, convinced each household to work together, to change their mindset: "Don't think you will always be poor". Step by step, the Cooperative Group was able to access training courses organized by the Women's Union at all levels in the province.

Ms. Binh learned how to process dried products, package them, label them, use social media to sell them, and then teach other women. With support from production tools such as cameras, mortars, vacuum machines, etc., the quality of the products has increased significantly.

Each tea bag of the Cooperative is now no longer a handmade product packed in a plastic bag but has a label, barcode, and packaging clearly stating product information. In 2023, the Cooperative's Luong Son green tea product will officially achieve 3-star OCOP certification.

It is not only the achievement of the whole team but also shows the determination to realize the dream of the Muong woman who used to walk barefoot in the dew to pick tea every morning.

Ms. Binh said that the activities of the "Supporting Women Entrepreneurs" Project for the period 2017-2025 have helped her broaden her horizons. "By participating in the training courses, I realized that I can completely take my tea products further. The important thing is to dare to think, dare to do, dare to try," Ms. Binh said.

Luong Son Green Tea Production Cooperative, address: Da Trang Area, Luong Son Commune, Yen Lap District, Phu Tho Province; Tel: 0977 252 280.

The District Women's Union supported 60 million VND for the Cooperative to register the brand and design the packaging, giving her more motivation to bring Da Trang green tea to the market.

To date, the cooperative has 12 members, most of whom are ethnic minority women, all with a stable income of 4 to 5 million VND/month. In addition to tea, the households also raise livestock and plant forests.

Ms. Binh and members of the Da Trang Green Tea Cooperative

"Now, women not only make tea but also know how to use Facebook and Zalo to introduce their products. Everyone is more confident," Binh happily shared. She also boldly promotes and mobilizes people to expand the tea growing area, green up vacant land, create a clean and beautiful environment, increase income, and protect sustainable livelihoods.

Her family now grows 3 hectares of acacia, raises 150 commercial chickens and raises fish. The family's total income reaches 300-350 million VND/year, a dream number in the mountains.

Sowing change in the community

Not only taking on the role of Head of the Cooperative Group, Ms. Dang Thi Binh is also the Secretary of the Party Cell of Da Trang area, Head of the Savings and Loan Group. With these roles, she has guided 43 households to borrow capital from the Social Policy Bank, developing a series of economic models such as growing tea, raising chickens, raising cows, making unburnt bricks, planting forests, etc.

Products of Da Trang Green Tea Cooperative

Thanks to that, many households have escaped poverty and become rich. Typical examples include the chicken farming model of Ms. Dinh Thi Hau and Ms. Le Thi Thanh's families; the pig farming model of Ms. Ha Thi Bang and Ms. Nguyen Thi Truong's families; and the livestock farming model of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa's family.

Along with many diverse production models such as woodworking, unburnt bricks of Ms. Nguyen Thi Nha's family, Ms. Ha Thi Quyet; forest planting model of Ms. Ha Thi Minh's family, Ms. Ha Thi Ruong's family, Ms. Ha Thi Ly's family...

Ms. Binh also mobilized people to support the construction and renovation of the cultural house, and the construction of a concrete road over 400m long, with a total socialized budget of over 300 million VND. The cultural - sports movement and the construction of new rural areas have also flourished since then.

With her persistent efforts, she was awarded by the Women's Union of Phu Tho province for her outstanding achievements in implementing the Project "Supporting women to start a business" in the period 2017-2025 and many Certificates of Merit from the People's Committee of the commune, the Ethnic Minorities Committee of Phu Tho province...

From the tea roots on the Luong Son hillside, up to now, the products of the Da Trang Green Tea Cooperative have been present at many fairs and startup festivals. With her efforts, Ms. Dang Thi Binh has proven that a woman can be an economic master if she dares to think and dare to do. Starting a business is not only an economic matter but also a journey to create life values ​​and community values. And in the middle of that lush Da Trang tea area, the Muong women of the "Da Trang Green Tea Cooperative" are still busy every day with their winnowing trays and tea drying machines, with the dream of turning tea trees into "rich trees".

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/geo-mam-tu-cay-che-dom-trai-bang-niem-tin-20250522161701642.htm