The aspiration to regenerate forests and create sustainable livelihoods.

THANH HOA - Driven by her love for the mountains and forests of her homeland, Nguyen Le Ngoc Linh has developed the "Native Mountain Forest Garden" model, reviving green forests and creating sustainable livelihoods for ethnic minorities in the mountainous region.

The aspiration to revive the forests.

Nguyen Le Ngoc Linh was born and raised in a Tho ethnic family in the mountainous area of ​​Hoa Quy commune, Nhu Xuan district (now Hoa Quy commune, Thanh Hoa province). In 2013, Linh graduated from university and started working at a company with a stable income. However, during her visits back home, witnessing the desolate forests and vast but barren and infertile land, Linh was deeply troubled by the reality that local people lacked sustainable livelihoods and the information and knowledge to rationally exploit forest resources.

With a lifelong love and passion for the mountains and forests, coupled with the knowledge accumulated during her studies and work, Linh harbored a burning desire to revitalize the forests and create stable livelihoods for her fellow villagers. For Linh, the problem wasn't just about capital or land; the core issue was that the people in the mountainous regions lacked information and concrete models to learn from and emulate.

Without hesitation, in 2019, Linh started building a "Native Forest Garden" model on 3 hectares of her family's hillside land. The early days of her entrepreneurial journey were not easy; capital was limited, and her knowledge of farming, medicinal plants, and forest development was still lacking. Linh worked while simultaneously researching information, learning through books, newspapers, training courses, advice from technical staff, and from practical production experience.

Nguyen Le Ngoc Linh grows medicinal plants under the forest canopy. Photo: Thanh Tam.

Persistently pursuing her chosen path, once she had secured sufficient capital, Linh purchased native tree species such as teak, mahogany, and black star to reforest the area, while also planting medicinal plants under the forest canopy. She absorbed and selectively applied knowledge of natural farming practices and ecosystem conservation to suit local conditions.

In 2020, Nguyen Le Ngoc Linh established the Ban Tho Cooperative with 7 members, mostly ethnic minorities and near-poor households. The cooperative collaborates with people living in the core areas of national and protected forests, raising bees under the canopy of old-growth forests and building a processing plant for fermented herbs and honey.

Sustainable agricultural development in mountainous regions

By the end of 2024, the Thổ village forest garden had reforested 6 hectares of barren hills with over 100 tree species such as: ironwood, Terminalia catappa, chestnut, Magnolia officinalis, Macadamia oleifera, and other varieties. Interspersed among these, medicinal plants (moringa, ginger, garlic, turmeric, perilla, chrysanthemum, butterfly pea, dandelion) were cultivated entirely organically, balancing production with the conservation of the natural ecosystem, and beekeeping for honey production was also practiced within the forest.