Big hope from small coffee beans

At the Po Nom Coffee Cooperative (Pang Sim village, Dam Rong 1 commune), 7 members are still uniting every day, learning and sharing knowledge and experience to change their own lives.

Po Nom coffee is the passion and innovative thinking of Ma ethnic women in Dam Rong 1.

In which, creating the Po Nom coffee brand is not only the beginning of the family economy but also an effort to make agriculture clean, green and safe.

According to Ms. K'Dao - Head of the cooperative, the name Po Nom means mountains and forests, expressing the deep connection between people and nature, forests and mountains, and preserving the traditional cultural values that have been attached for generations to the ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands. That spirit has become the red thread throughout the production journey of the group. They not only grow coffee, but also put into each coffee bean their love for nature, belief in clean agriculture and the desire to improve the quality of life of the community through sustainable development.

The members of the Cooperative are young women, the oldest born in 1992, the rest born in 1996. They have the opportunity to participate in community activities of Caritas Da Lat and are inspired by a group of women in Di Linh - the Oh Mi Koho Coffee Cooperative. The journey of the Po Nom Coffee Cooperative started in 2021, the women began the transition phase, completely stopping the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, only using composted fertilizers. After visiting sustainable coffee models in the province, the women picked ripe fruits, washed them, dried them on high racks, and carefully ground the beans. At that time, there was no separate factory, the roasting and packaging stages were outsourced to other facilities. From the first customers, the group gradually built trust and attachment, and then they became regular customers.

In early 2025, the cooperative was lent a house by a villager to build a workshop, and with financial support from Caritas Da Lat, the Po Nom coffee workshop was born. The cooperative was also officially established, with the help and witness of the local government. In the cooperative, Ms. K'Dao is probably the most skilled person. As the group leader, she has the opportunity to study in many places, she arranges time to learn roasting and brewing from a local facility. From the confusion and clumsiness with the first batch of self-roasted coffee, up to now, she has also been confident to take charge of all the techniques and is in the process of sharing them with other sisters. Every month, although only selling a few dozen kilograms of coffee, the members have had more income to cover their living expenses. From then on, the sisters are more determined to work harder together on this still arduous path.
Working directly with the members of the cooperative from the early days, Mr. Hoang Tung - Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Dam Rong 1 commune also acknowledged the efforts and initiative of the women in Pang Sim village. According to Mr. Tung, in order to continue expanding and developing, the cooperative needs to focus more on improving the productivity and quality of coffee beans. The locality will accompany the group in promoting and introducing products. The important thing is that the women need to overcome difficulties to sell on e-commerce channels, diversify intercropping in coffee gardens or take advantage of machinery to make more dried products typical of the region.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/hi-vong-lon-tu-nhung-hat-ca-phe-nho-382781.html