“I was born in the countryside, my family has been farmers for many generations, so I want to stick with my hometown for a long time. Therefore, we must find a job to be our own boss, rather than living in a high-paying city and still just being an employee," Mr. Do Van Toan (32 years old) started the story about his entrepreneurial journey.
The 9X guy in Ninh Binh starts his day early in the morning when the rooster crows. After waking up to do personal hygiene, he walked out to the bamboo cage to visit each cell to see if any of them stopped eating or got sick. Only then can he feel secure about his daily work.
The 9X boy's daily job is to keep company with big rats (Photo: Thanh Binh).
Mr. Toan shared: "Bugs are rodents, eat at night and sleep during the day. At night, feed the bamboo rats, then during the day they fall asleep. Therefore, you must check the barn early in the morning, avoid leaving it too late, as it will affect their sleep, affecting the growth and development process."
In 2015, Mr. Toan graduated in construction from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. After graduating, he traveled to many places, looking for many job opportunities in the city. Having a stable, high-paying job, working professionally as a construction engineer, but the young man still feels pain in returning to his hometown to start a career.
That's why, while working in the city, he also explores and learns about economic development models associated with agriculture in the countryside.
"Seeing that the bamboo raising model is very special and has potential, I have continuously learned about a special type of adoption that no one in my hometown has ever seen before.
This species is popular with its high price, and raising it is not very difficult because it eats only tree trunks and tubers of all kinds. The output is stable, so I decided to invest in starting a business from a rodent like this mouse."
Having earned a little capital as a hired worker, Mr. Toan decided to quit his job in the city and return to his hometown, to the surprise of many people. The young man's luggage when he returned to his hometown to start a business was only 10 pairs of bamboo baskets, bought for 12 million VND that he had accumulated with his empty hands.
Understanding the process of raising rodents, Mr. Toan pocketed more than 200 million VND each year (Photo: Thanh Binh).
Returning home to build a breeding cage, at first without experience, Mr. Toan thought he had lost everything when the bamboo kept getting sick, was weak and almost died. Success has not yet been seen, only seeing many people saying: "I wonder if it will make any rice or not?", making him discouraged at times.
While caring for the bamboo to survive, Mr. Toan also learns techniques online. Besides, directly visit bamboo farming models in localities to learn. After a year of raising and studying, he took care of the rat herd to grow quickly and healthily and successfully gave birth to a group of baby rams.
“I thought raising bamboo rats would be as easy as rats, but it's not. This species is very fastidious in that the barn must be clean, airtight and without sunlight. They are a cave species, so the breeding area must be quiet, warm in winter and cool in summer," Mr. Toan revealed.
Also according to Mr. Toan, the place where the bamboo lives is like that, the food and care must also be clean. Just bamboo stalks, sugar cane, corn... very simple but must not be rancid and absolutely must not be contaminated with rainwater. Food contaminated with rainwater can cause intestinal diseases when eaten by bamboo rats. If not treated promptly, they will become weak and die," Mr. Toan said.
From the beginning of 2023 until now, the scale of Mr. Toan's family's bamboo cage has continuously expanded. On the farm area of more than 150 square meters, he arranged farming plots, dividing them into zones such as breeding bamboo, commercial bamboo, breeding bamboo...
“Mothers get pregnant three times a year, and each litter gives birth to 3-2 babies. That's why the bamboo multiplies very quickly. Currently, our facility is raising more than 4 mother rats to reproduce, each year selling thousands of rats to the market.
Each pair of bamboo shoots costs 1,2 million VND. When the adopted babies reach a weight of 1,5 - 2kg, they can be sold for meat at a price of 600 VND/kg. Every year, minus all expenses, I also earn a profit of about 200 million VND," Mr. Toan revealed.
Each pair of bamboo shoots costs 1,2 million VND, meat packs cost 600 thousand VND/kg (Photo: Thanh Binh).
Not only does bamboo farming develop his family's economy, the 9X boy is also currently supporting and transferring the farming model to 10 other households to get rich together. Mr. Toan provides seeds, technical support and output for households.
“The current market for commercial bamboo products does not meet demand. Snakehead is a specialty so it is chosen by many gourmets. In the coming time, I will expand the scale of production, increase the herd to provide more breeds and commercial bamboo shoots to the market.
At the same time, actively support cooperative members who need to develop a bamboo farming model towards building a chain of links and commercial bamboo business," Mr. Toan shared about his future plans. hybrid.
