Gen Z Engineers and Dreams Made of Straw

The son against the waves…

La Gi in the dry season. The scorching sun spreads golden across the road leading to Tan Tien commune. Here, the Ky family's level 4 house is always busy, with carts of straw from Tanh Linh and Duc Linh stacked up in rolls, the pungent smell spreading in the backyard.

Three straw islands.

The young engineer was still working hard in the middle of the mushroom farm. It was a hot early summer afternoon, the sea breeze was blowing hard on his face, but Ky did not stop working, he bent down attentively to turn each layer of straw, check the temperature, then bent down to meticulously record each humidity and temperature index... In the air filled with the strong smell of rotting straw, the faint scent of young mushrooms, Ky muttered to himself as if talking to the pile of straw: "The straw is not rotten enough, the temperature has not risen yet. If you rush, the whole batch of mushrooms will be ruined."

Straw mushrooms, baby mushrooms.

Born into a family of fishermen, Ky grew up with the smell of the sea and the sound of waves lapping against the boat. In that salty space, he nurtured a very different dream, growing clean mushrooms and determined to study the specialized field of edible and medicinal mushrooms at the University of Agriculture and Forestry in Ho Chi Minh City. "My father did not let us go to sea, nor did he force us to help with the fishing nets, he only taught us to study. He always said: The sea is very hard, study first to escape suffering" - Ky said, his eyes shining warmly.

On the porch, Mr. Hoang Vu - Ky's father quietly watched his son in the middle of the mushroom farm. His sunburned hand rubbed the brim of his worn-out conical hat. His life was attached to the waves, the sea breeze and long trips at sea. Mr. Vu was still determined to keep what he himself lacked: his children must be educated properly. No matter how difficult it was, he and his wife encouraged each other to create conditions for the three Ky brothers to study. "Back then... I went to sea when I was 14 years old. I lost my father at a young age, I didn't know how to read or write. But now I see that my son is studying properly, it's worth the effort." Mr. Vu spoke slowly, paused for a moment, then said in a low voice: "There was a time when I saw him having a fever, asthma, and a relapse of his heart disease, but he still tried to grow mushrooms. I asked him: "Why didn't you choose to do it because it's easier?" He just smiled: "Dad, I chose it, I'm so passionate about this." Loving his son, Mr. Vu put aside his life at sea to stay home and help his son grow mushrooms.

Active in Youth Union work.

After graduating from university with honors, Ky received several job offers in Ho Chi Minh City, with a starting salary of 15 million VND/month. Friends also advised him to stay in the city. “Go get a stable job, son. Going back to the countryside is very hot and windy…”, his mother called, her voice full of worry. Ky remained silent. A few days later, he returned to his hometown, preparing to set up a mushroom farm in the backyard.

Ky started his business with nothing. He had just graduated from school, had not worked, and had no savings. His initial capital was only 20 million VND that his parents supported him with, not enough to build a camp. Ky not only grew mushrooms, but also worked hard like a true farmer, growing cucumbers, chili peppers, etc., determined to produce cleanly. Ky also actively participated in the Youth Union, and was the Secretary of the Hiep Tien Village Youth Union. Thanks to his enthusiasm, Ky was introduced to a 90 million VND start-up loan from the Social Policy Bank through the Youth Union channel, to pursue his passion. From there, the first mushroom farms were born simply with nylon tarps and iron frames.

“I chose straw mushrooms, a type of mushroom that is suitable for the hot and humid climate in La Gi. The temperature of 28-35°C is the ideal condition for growing straw mushrooms systematically. Meanwhile, the locality does not have a mushroom farm, mainly importing from other provinces. I want to try and create a new direction. Not only for economic purposes, I want to create jobs for people here in the future. In the immediate future, I have to pay for graduate school to pursue my career thoroughly,” Ky shared.

Straw of good quality for farming.

The failures

Growing straw mushrooms seems simple, but in fact it is a complicated and risky journey. In the first 3 months, failure came crashing down like a bucket of cold water. The mushrooms were continuously damaged because the humidity and temperature were not controlled, the farm was not windproof, and there was no monitoring equipment. Sudden rains caused the straw to not have enough heat to decompose, leading to mold and the whole batch of seeds being ruined. During peak season, the price of straw increased to 35,000 VND/roll, and there was no straw to grow mushrooms because of the demand for straw from dragon fruit gardens, forcing the farm to temporarily suspend operations. The young engineer spent many nights sitting absent-mindedly in front of the pile of straw, asking himself: Where did I go wrong...?

“Are you sure? Is growing mushrooms really that hard?”, friends who came to visit asked. Ky did not answer, just smiled, continuing to work hard on the mushroom farm. “At first I thought he was just doing it for fun. But I saw him working day and night, sometimes going to see a doctor and then coming back still trying to stir the straw. This guy is really tough,” Ky’s friend said.

Harvested straw delivered to customers.

After a series of failures, Ky diligently researched each step, recorded the formula, and improved the process. Without machines or cold rooms, he had to learn to “listen” to the straw. He held it, squeezed it, smelled it, and observed each small yeast particle. Ky said: “The qualified straw is when when squeezed, there is water in the gaps between the fingers, the aroma of straw, the color is chocolate brown, and there is no sour smell. When tiny gray-white particles appear - probiotics, it is “qualified”. Ky himself concluded the straw fermentation formula: Humidity 80-85%, temperature above 70 degrees Celsius, just enough to kill wild mushrooms, reduce risks but still retain nutrients. After a period of adjustment, the mushroom farm is now operating stably. Each month, the farm exports about 600 kg of clean mushrooms to the market, with a profit of more than 15 million VND, although not much, but it is the beginning to continue writing the dream.

Efforts to get out of the "small camp"...

One afternoon, Ky's phone rang continuously. A customer from Can Tho called repeatedly: "Honey, we need 2 tons/month, can you meet the demand?", Ky looked at the farm, looked at the half-fermented straw rolls, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I'll wait for you for a few more months, I'm expanding". The type of mushroom Ky grows is the Shen Nong variety, sweeter and fatter than the mass-grown Chinese mushroom. The mushrooms are grown on straw, so they retain the pure deliciousness of the mushrooms better than mushrooms grown on cotton or sawdust", a customer commented.

Not stopping at production, the young engineer is also nurturing many bigger plans. The orientation is to expand the scale of industrial production: Build a closed farm, gradually modernize, invest in more automatic misting machines, ultrasonic humidifiers to reduce labor and stabilize output. When expanding, he will look for customers and bring products to supermarkets, vegetarian restaurant chains and aim to export freeze-dried mushrooms when there are customers from Duc Linh, outside the province asking to buy large quantities.

In particular, Ky is researching to create his own straw mushroom breed for the farm, in order to proactively source the breed, reduce costs and control quality. With the direction of organic production, input materials such as straw are carefully selected, prioritized from organic growing areas, without chemicals but using corn bran, rice bran, soybeans... Currently, Ky has connected to the source of organic straw from Dong Thap, however, due to high transportation costs, he is still looking for suitable solutions. To expand, Ky hopes to receive support from the locality in terms of capital, OCOP product certification...

While his friends left the countryside for the city, Ngo Thanh Ky quietly returned. The mushroom farm in the middle of the coastal village is a simple but strong affirmation: Returning to the countryside is not a retreat, but a new beginning in a different way. Ky's startup story is like a beautiful slice of the desire to commit, work hard and have a strong belief that strongly inspires a new generation of young people: Know how to dream, dare to do and persevere to the end.

The night at the mushroom farm was quiet. The yellow lights quietly warmed the straw in the farm, the early summer rain pattered on the canvas roof. Ky went to check each farm, his hands touching the straw as if listening to the whispers of the soil, of the mushrooms... and of the dream he had chosen.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/ky-su-gen-z-va-giac-mo-tu-rom-hoai-130165.html