From the desire to 'self-study' to spreading initiatives

The annual Vietnam Education Promotion Day (October 2) is an occasion to honor the spirit of studiousness and lifelong learning of people across the country. This year, among many outstanding examples, the story of Ms. Dao Thanh Hao (Director of Hao Dat Tea Cooperative, Tan Cuong Commune, Thai Nguyen Province) is particularly impressive. Without formal education, but with her love for tea trees and desire to learn, she has come up with many new solutions, bringing practical value and spreading strongly.

The delegation of the Vietnam Talent Award 2025 - "Encouragement of Learning - Self-study to become talented" award, learned about the reality of tea yeast killing tube products.

Born into a family with many generations of tea trees, Mrs. Hao's childhood was associated with the days of following her mother and sister to the fields to pick and dry tea. Although the tea profession seems to be a familiar job, nothing new, but in Mrs. Hao, the question always urges: How to make tea more delicious, so that tea growers can have a better life?

Without the opportunity to study formally, she chose to learn through work. From her daily work, she meticulously recorded her experiences from selecting seeds, fertilizing, picking tea to processing. And so, day by day, this honest farmer became a “lifelong student” of tea.

Her learning philosophy is simple yet profound: “Everyone values ​​learning in school, but learning in daily work is also a big class. Every failure is a lesson, every successful initiative is a new page in the book. If you don’t learn, don’t explore, you will always be stuck in the same place…”. It is this spirit that has motivated her to constantly innovate, creating initiatives that leave a deep mark on the community.

The most prominent is the Tea Yeast Removal Tube initiative. Previously, the yeast removal process was done entirely manually. Workers relied on their senses to monitor the temperature and time. Just a little deviation could cause the entire batch of tea to lose its aroma and quality. Many times witnessing the efforts of cooperative members being wasted, Ms. Hao sought ways to overcome it.

Dozens of trials, failures and then starting again, finally, the tea yeast killer tube was born. The design is simple, easy to use but the results are great: helping to preserve the flavor, increase productivity, and ensure product stability. Since its introduction, Hao Dat tea has become more popular with consumers, and the brand has gradually affirmed its position in the market.

Thanks to digital transformation, the working environment is transparent and fair, increasing employee engagement in Hao Dat Tea Cooperative.

Not only limited to the scope of cooperatives, this initiative has been studied and applied by many production households in the region. In particular, in 2025, "Tea yeast-killing tube" was honored to be selected as one of the five typical projects nationwide, proposed to the final round of the "Encouragement of Learning - Self-study to become talented" Award, under the Vietnam Talent Award system. This is a worthy recognition, honoring individuals and collectives who have not received formal training but through practical work have created products of high economic and social value.

If the “Tea Fermentation Tube” is the result of a process of exploration and dedication to the profession, the Face ID timekeeping model shows the Cooperative’s boldness in applying digital technology to production. Based on the need for transparent labor management and time saving, Ms. Hao and the Cooperative members have applied the facial recognition system right on the tea plantation. Workers only need to scan their faces, and the data is automatically saved in the software, avoiding errors and ensuring fairness.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, who has been with the cooperative for many years and is also the head of the tea picking team, shared: Since Face ID, we no longer have to worry about confusing our working days. Those who work more are recorded correctly, and those who take time off are also clearly identified. Everyone feels more secure and committed.

These initiatives show that, at Hao Dat Tea Cooperative, the spirit of learning does not stop at one individual, but has become a common driving force. From Mrs. Hao - a typical "learning individual", that spirit spreads to many people in the family and the Cooperative. Here, each member is proactive in learning, dares to innovate and considers learning as a part of daily work.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/nghi-quyet-57/khoa-hoc-cong-nghe/202510/tu-khat-vong-tu-hoc-den-sang-kien-lan-toa-f1a1e30/