Dynamic enrichment from Shan Tuyet tea tree

Born and raised in Pang Cang village, Van Chan commune, Lao Cai province, Ms. Chang Thi Ly - Mong ethnic group, is a typical female member in the local economic development movement. With her will, determination and daring spirit, she has risen out of poverty and become rich from Shan Tuyet tea - a specialty tree that has been associated with the people of the highlands here for generations.

At the end of October, during a business trip to the base, we visited the tea growing model of Ms. Chang Thi Ly's family. From afar, seeing the guests coming, Ms. Ly quickly stepped out to welcome them with a bright smile, a sincere voice, as rustic as the scent of tea from her hometown. Over a pot of steaming tea, she told us a story of a determined start-up, starting from the green tea beds on the hillside, where she devoted her heart to turning her family's traditional profession into a sustainable direction.

Ms. Chang Thi Ly got married when she was just 20 years old. At that time, the young couple's life was very difficult. There was little arable land, most of it was steep hills, corn and cassava were grown with low productivity, and the income was not enough to cover living expenses. Undaunted, in 2003, Ms. Ly started to buy fresh tea to sell to processing factories in the area.

Recalling the difficult days, Ms. Ly said: “Back then, every morning my husband and I went to buy tea from the surrounding households and in the evening we carried fresh tea to sell to the traders. The road was long and tiring, but the income was better than farming. After a long time, I realized that tea trees were the most stable source of income here, so I discussed with my husband about growing tea to have a long-term income.”

The ancient Shan Tuyet tea trees with large, fresh buds in Pang Cang village become the main source of raw materials for Ly's family's production facility.

With that in mind, in 2006, the couple decided to invest in developing tea trees. In addition to taking good care of the 1 hectare of tea given by their parents, the couple also converted another 1 hectare of ineffective upland to grow tea.

In the early days, they were confused and had little experience. They had to learn from their parents and the elderly in the village the techniques of planting, caring for and harvesting Shan Tuyet tea. Thanks to their diligence and hard work, their family's tea garden developed well, with a much higher yield than previous crops.

Ms. Chang Thi Ly is hard-working, diligent, dares to think, dares to do.

When the tea hills began to yield stable harvests, Ms. Ly gradually realized that selling only fresh tea to purchasing facilities did not fully exploit the value of the product. Therefore, in 2010, she discussed with her husband to invest 20 million VND to build a factory, buy 1 rolling machine and 2 automatic tea roasting machines to process dry tea at home. This was an important turning point, helping her family to be more proactive in developing the family economy .

Ms. Ly shared: “I can control the quality and flavor of the tea I roast myself. Our family roasts tea using both traditional and modern methods. No matter the method, if done well, the tea will be fragrant and have a higher price. Every time a customer compliments the tea, I feel very happy.”

Fresh Shan Tuyet tea buds, 1 bud 1 leaf, are used to make premium tea, with a higher price than other tea products.

In recent years, to continue expanding production, Ly's family has boldly invested in 1 more roasting machine and 1 tea dryer, with a capacity of 25 kg/batch. As the scale grows larger, the demand for raw materials increases, in addition to the family's raw materials, she also buys fresh tea buds from surrounding households.

Up to now, each year, her family produces 2-3 tons of dry tea, with an average revenue of over 600 million VND per year. The products are classified by quality, in which tea processed from fresh buds of 1 bud and 2 leaves and 1 bud and 3 leaves has a price ranging from 200,000 to 350,000 VND/kg. Premium tea products processed from buds of 1 bud and 1 leaf are sold for 600,000 to 1 million VND/kg.

Ms. Chang Thi Ly introduces tea dryer at her family's factory.

In particular, since 2020, when local tourism has developed strongly, Ly and her husband have realized the great potential from the source of tourists, so they have opened another business direction to serve tourists. The couple has researched and learned modern processing techniques to add value to traditional tea products, creating product lines such as pressed tea cakes, bamboo tube tea, black tea, tea bags, etc.

In addition, her family also focuses on designing eye-catching packaging and labels that suit customers' tastes. Thanks to that, her family's tea products are known and sought after by many tourists in and outside the province.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Truong, a tourist from Hanoi, commented: "Every holiday, my family and I go to Van Chan to travel and relax after long, stressful days of work. Since I learned about Ly's family's tea products, every time I come, I buy some as gifts for my friends. The tea here is very fragrant and delicious. After drinking, the sweet aftertaste lingers for a long time, the typical flavor of ancient Shan Tuyet tea."

Ly's family's pressed tea cakes and bamboo tube tea products.

With her will, determination to overcome difficulties, and creative spirit, daring to think and dare to do, Ms. Chang Thi Ly has turned the green Shan Tuyet tea hills into a stable source of income for her family.

Member Chang Thi Ly is a typical example in the women's movement to compete in economic development. Being both active and creative in production, Ms. Ly also actively shares her experiences, helping many other members to escape poverty and build a prosperous and happy family.

Comrade Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet - President of the Women's Union of Van Chan commune----

Ms. Ly's family focuses on designing packaging and labels for tea products to suit tourists' tastes.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/nang-dong-lam-giau-tu-cay-che-shan-tuyet-post885251.html