Starting a business from abandoned ponds in Lam Dong hometown

Amidst the wave of young people leaving their hometowns to start a business in the city, there is a young person who chose the opposite path, returning to his hometown to start a business with abandoned ponds. That is Nguyen Huu Nhon (born in 1992), a member of the Tra Tan commune, Lam Dong province. He has turned 5 hectares of abandoned ponds into a black snail farming model combined with experiential tourism, bringing a livelihood to himself and creating a strong ripple effect in the movement "Youth start-up innovation".

Snails are hatched right at the farm.

From abandoned ponds to commercial snail farms

Born into a farming family in the arid land of Duc Linh district, former Binh Thuan province, Nguyen Huu Nhon studied at the University of Law but he did not choose to stick with this profession and decided to switch to agriculture. Since 2012, he started a business with a model of growing lingzhi mushrooms and cordyceps in Ho Chi Minh City. Many years of witnessing young people leaving their hometowns to go to the city to make a living and ponds and fields being abandoned made Nhon worried. The question "If everyone leaves, who will develop this hometown?" became the motivation for him to leave the city, return to the land of his childhood to start over.

In 2018, he rented abandoned ponds to experiment with raising clean black apple snails. Without much capital, he renovated the ponds himself, dredged mud, built banks, adjusted the water source, and waded through mud from morning to night. In the early days, the snails died en masse due to the unstable environment, causing him to lose tens of millions of dong. However, he was not discouraged but considered failure as “tuition”, continued to travel to many places to learn from experience and meticulously recorded snail farming techniques.

After a period of perseverance, the model gradually stabilized, the snails grew well. From a small pond, he expanded to 5 hectares, building a commercial snail farm in Duc Linh commune, Lam Dong province.

According to Mr. Nhon, black apple snails are easy to raise, low investment costs but very adaptable to the soil and conditions in this land. Above all, this black apple snail farming model can be replicated, easily transferred to farmers in the area to together build a large commercial snail farming area, bringing high economic efficiency.

According to Mr. Nhon, black apple snails are easy to raise, low cost, suitable for local natural conditions and can be replicated. “Through many farming seasons, I have concluded that you only need to choose a pond or ditch with clean water, little pollution and keep the water level stable at about 20-40 cm for the snails to grow well. The bottom of the pond should have a layer of natural soft mud; in the pond, plant more vegetables, seaweed or duckweed to create shade and food source for the snails. Before stocking, the pond needs to be renovated, the breed must be healthy and the stocking density must be suitable for each type of pond. During the farming process, pay attention to pond hygiene to prevent fungus and parasites. After about 5-6 months, the snails reach a commercial weight of about 25-40g/snail and can be harvested,” Mr. Nhon shared his farming experience.

In addition to raising commercial snails to supply restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces, Nhon's snail farm also breeds snails and breeds snails to both create a source of snails for the farm and provide seeds. Currently, the price of apple snails being purchased at the farm ranges from 50,000 to 70,000 VND/kg. With an average yield of 70-100 kg/ha per day during the harvest season, after deducting expenses, Nhon earns about 5 million VND/ha/day.

Enhancing agricultural products, combining with experiential tourism

Not stopping at selling snails for commercial purposes, Mr. Nhon has boldly raised the value of snails to become a specialty medicinal product. He researched and processed "medicinal black apple snail patties" which are a combination of snail meat with lingzhi mushrooms, cordyceps and lemongrass essential oil. This product was quickly accepted by the market, with a selling price of 220,000-360,000 VND/kg.

Portrait of the young man who "left the city to return to the countryside" Nguyen Huu Nhon next to the snail farm in Duc Linh commune, Lam Dong province.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Nhon said: Another product that is also popular in the market is "medicinal snail". Instead of feeding duckweed and water fern as usual, this type of snail is raised with food sources such as cordyceps and mint leaves, helping to increase the medicinal content in the snail meat. This type of snail is currently consumed domestically and exported to Korea at a price of 250,000 - 350,000 VND/kg.

Realizing the potential of the countryside landscape, Mr. Nhon developed an experiential agricultural tourism model. Part of the farm is planned as a reception area, with a path along the pond, a resting hut and a processing area. Visitors can experience catching snails, processing them and enjoying them on the spot.

Mr. Phan The Nhan (Phan Thiet ward, Lam Dong province) commented that the farm space is suitable for organizing picnics, helping students understand rural life. However, he thinks that more experiential activities should be opened to attract tourists. "Here, tourists can learn about the lives of farmers from raising snails, growing rice and crops and feel the peacefulness of the countryside that has remained untouched by urbanization," Mr. Nhan shared.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Nhon introduces other OCOP products being developed.

From a young farmer, Nguyen Huu Nhon has become a creative entrepreneur, knowing how to take advantage of local resources to create added value, contributing to building the brand "Oc Duc Linh - Binh Thuan" on the map of clean agriculture. He has won many awards such as the Luong Dinh Cua Award in 2022 for Outstanding Young Farmer; the title of Advanced Youth Following Uncle Ho's Teachings 2023; Second Prize in the Rural Youth Startup Project Competition 2025; Typical Advanced Model of Patriotic Emulation of Lam Dong Province in the period 2020-2025...

Currently, despite facing difficulties in the market and competition, Mr. Nhon believes that if he perseveres, he can still create value right in his hometown. He shared: “What I am most proud of is not the revenue, but the fact that the model has made many young people in the area think differently about staying in their hometown, spreading the entrepreneurial spirit to the younger generation. They see that if agriculture is done scientifically, combined with tourism and trade, it can still bring in good income and get rich right in its homeland,” Mr. Nguyen Huu Nhon confided.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Tam, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, Secretary of the Youth Union of Tra Tan commune, said: Returning to his hometown, Mr. Nguyen Huu Nhon has come up with many creative economic ideas, becoming a typical example for young people about the will to overcome difficulties. Despite many failures, he still persevered and has now succeeded with OCOP products such as snail sausage and cordyceps wine. In the near future, the locality plans to coordinate with Mr. Nhon to share, advise on career orientation and start-ups for young people; at the same time, replicate the black apple snail farming model, support breeds and purchase products for young people who want to develop the economy.

The Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee said that from Nguyen Huu Nhon's project, it is clear to see the pioneering role of youth in developing the rural economy associated with preserving culture and the environment; creating a strong ripple effect in the "Youth Start-up and Innovation" movement of Lam Dong province in particular and the youth in general.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/nguoi-tot-viec-tot/khoi-nghiep-tu-nhung-ao-ho-hoan