Start a business in the mangrove forest

BAC LIEU Ms. Luu Kieu Diem, 31 years old, quit her job in the city to go to the mangrove forest with her husband, Mr. Bui Quoc Duong, to start a green tourism project.

The farm that combines production and tourism in Vinh Hau A commune, Hoa Binh district, owned by a 9X couple, is an ideal destination for tourists who love to explore and experience. This is also the ambition that Mr. Duong, 32 years old, and his wife have cherished and built for many years.

Liu Kieu Diem and her husband. Photo: An Minh

Nine years ago, when he was only a few months away from graduating from the Chemical Technology major at Can Tho University, Mr. Duong realized that he was not interested in this major. At that time, his mind was full of agricultural economic development projects and he spent a lot of time researching good models and creative ways to increase the value of agricultural products.

After many nights of thinking, he decided to drop out of school to return to his hometown in U Minh Thuong district, Kien Giang province to start a business. He started to renovate his family's shrimp-rice model towards clean production and selling safe products. This has helped the family's income increase significantly.

Not stopping there, the young man cherished the idea of ​​doing eco-tourism with the existing model, but was prevented by his family because it was too new. Duong decided to leave home to find a new land to develop the idea of ​​doing green tourism. His greatest luck was the companionship of Ms. Diem (now his girlfriend). At that time, she had a good and stable job in Vi Thanh City (Hau Giang), but Chan accepted to quit her job to go to Bac Lieu to start a business.

Guests have fun and experience on floating rafts built by Mr. Duong himself. Photo: An Minh

Their luggage consisted of more than 100 million VND borrowed from friends, relatives and youthful enthusiasm. Thanks to an acquaintance's introduction, Mr. Duong and his wife rented a piece of land of more than four hectares in Vinh Hau A commune for 60 million VND per year to raise shrimp, crabs and build a tourism model. The two gave up their house of more than 15 square meters for guests to stay, then temporarily lived in a hut of less than 4 square meters.

"Many people said my wife and I were crazy to leave the city for a remote place, but we always believed we were right," said Mr. Duong.

After more than three years of farming, the couple decided to move to another forested area of ​​more than three hectares to build a more complete model. Here, the idea of ​​tourism exploiting the advantages of mangrove forests for shade and raising fish and shrimp under the water for tourists to experience has been more clearly shaped.

Due to limited capital, Mr. Duong spent months building floating rafts and tables and chairs to serve customers. In the pond, they raised shrimp, fish, and crabs in an organic and natural way, without using chemicals. Ms. Diem proactively built an online seafood sales channel to earn income and promote tourism products. A year later, the young couple welcomed their first guests with compliments about their service.

However, when the number of visitors gradually stabilized, the garden owner wanted to take back the land to rent. Once again, the couple had to rebuild from scratch in a new location. This time, they expanded the area to 6 hectares, about a kilometer from the old location. Mr. Duong built an eco-tourism area under the forest canopy, welcoming tens of thousands of visitors each year. This place has become an eco-tourism destination combined with an experience for visitors.

Tourists experience the eco-tourism area under the forest canopy. Photo: An Minh

Despite having a well-known tourist destination, Mr. Duong is still struggling to retain tourists. He realized that there are not many resorts in Bac Lieu, so he decided to rent a new plot of land to build a tourist destination combined with a homestay. "I want visitors to not only come and experience for a few hours and then leave, but also stay as an ideal place to rest," Mr. Duong said, adding that he has invested more than 700 million VND in the project so far.

At the new location of more than 3 hectares, Mr. Duong and his wife still do everything themselves to save costs and adjust according to their own wishes. He described that the new tourist area will recreate pure rural life, with square shrimp houses, where guests can fish and camp. He renovated the vacant land to grow vegetables and fruit trees. Ms. Diem will go into the kitchen to prepare rustic dishes from naturally raised shrimp and crab specialties.

Vnexpress.net