Thai ethnic woman changes mindset to get rich in her homeland

TPO - Ms. Cam Thi Mon, a Thai ethnic woman in Muong Chanh commune, Son La province, has written an admirable story of entrepreneurship. With determination and knowledge, she has united fellow women to build the Ara-Tay Coffee Cooperative, producing high-quality specialty coffee. That journey not only created the Son La coffee brand, but also opened up a path for sustainable poverty reduction and community economic development.

Ms. Cam Thi Mon

Starting a business from the desire to rise up

While visiting the Arabica coffee garden of the Cooperative covering the green hillsides, Ms. Cam Thi Mon, Director of the Cooperative, recounted her entrepreneurial journey. Ms. Mon said that the name “Ara-Tay” is a combination of two words: “Ara” is taken from Arabica (the highest quality coffee, the most expensive among all coffees), and “Tay” is both Thai and means hand, a symbol of dexterity, diligence, and dedication. The brand represents the tenacious working spirit and the aspiration to rise of the women in the highlands; at the same time, affirms their role in developing the family and community economy .

In 2018, through an Australian NGO project supporting women in saving in the old Chieng Chung commune, Ms. Mon and some members were able to visit a high-quality coffee cooperative model in the Central Highlands. “That trip opened up a new dream for us. I believe that Thai ethnic women can absolutely make specialty coffee and escape poverty through their own labor,” Ms. Mon recalled.

Ara-Tay Coffee Cooperative members tend to the coffee.

Returning to her hometown, with the support of the project, in early 2019, she mobilized 14 women to contribute capital and borrow more than 300 million VND from the bank to establish the Ara - Tay Coffee Cooperative. From there, the journey to build a specialty coffee model began, both as a way to make money and as a way to help women escape poverty, become independent and assert their position.

Thanks to the collective efforts, the Cooperative has invested in a production workshop, a greenhouse for drying coffee, applying modern wet processing technology with a capacity of 5 tons of fruit/hour, helping to preserve the natural flavor and save water. The coffee husks are used as organic fertilizer, contributing to reducing costs and protecting the environment.

Currently, 70 hectares of coffee of the cooperative members and 300 satellite households in the two communes of Chieng Chung and Muong Chanh are cultivated in an organic, clean and safe manner. Coffee beans are selectively harvested when ripe, ensuring adequate sugar content and flavor. Each stage of production is closely monitored according to technical processes and food safety standards.

Thanks to that, the Cooperative has created four typical product lines including: Natural green coffee beans, Honey green coffee beans, Natural coffee powder and beans, Honey coffee powder and beans. Each coffee bean contains the meticulousness, ingenuity and love of Thai ethnic women for their homeland.

Spreading sustainable poverty reduction models

Not only creating quality products, Ara-Tay Coffee's model also helps dozens of women have stable jobs, improve their income, and gradually reduce poverty in the community.

Ms. Lo Thi Thuy, a member of the cooperative, shared: “Since joining the cooperative, I have learned many techniques for taking care of coffee trees, how to harvest, process, and roast. Now, my family's income has doubled, and life is more stable. Most importantly, we are confident that women in the highlands can do well economically and escape poverty on their own.”

According to statistics, each year Ara-Tay Coffee Cooperative harvests 500 tons of coffee, with an annual revenue of about 5 billion VND, contributing to improving the lives of local people. "Currently, the Cooperative produces coffee under the brands Honey and Natural, Paper Filter Coffee, Cascara Tea, which are certified as Vietnamese specialty coffee and have achieved 4-star OCOP at the provincial level, affirming the position of Son La coffee in the market," said Ms. Mon.

Not only an economic model, Ara-Tay Coffee has also become the nucleus of the movement of women helping each other in economic activities, spreading the spirit of entrepreneurship in the community. The cooperative organizes training courses, shares experiences in planting, caring for and processing coffee for surrounding households, contributing to the formation of sustainable raw material areas, helping many households escape poverty.

Mr. Ha Nam Linh, Vice Chairman of Muong Chanh Commune People's Committee, commented: "Ara-Tay Coffee Cooperative is a vivid demonstration of the spirit of overcoming difficulties, daring to think, daring to do of Thai ethnic women. The success of the Cooperative not only brings economic value, but also creates motivation for community development, sharing coffee growing experiences, helping many households to escape poverty sustainably."

Ara-Tay Coffee Cooperative participates in product fairs in and outside the province.

According to Mr. Linh, Muong Chanh commune is aiming to replicate the organic coffee model, support loans, technical training and connect product consumption for women. The goal is to build a green, clean, sustainable agricultural value chain, in which the people are the owners, and the government plays a role in creating, promoting and helping people get rich on their homeland.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-dan-toc-thai-thay-doi-tu-duy-lam-giau-tren-que-huong-post1789186.tpo