With 3 university degrees, Phan Thi Bich Lien in Dong Thap still decided to return to her hometown to take care of her 3.3-hectare pink grapefruit garden and do eco-tourism.
In late February, the pink tangerine garden of Ms. Phan Thi Bich Lien (33 years old, living in Lai Vung district, Dong Thap) is bearing fruit out of season, preparing to welcome tourists to visit on March 8 and the April 30 - May 1 holidays.
Born and raised in a farming family with four siblings, Bich Lien graduated from Can Tho University with a degree in food technology and business administration. She then studied abroad and graduated with a degree in Japanese linguistics from Shinjuku Tokyo Language Institute.
After finishing school, Lien returned to Ho Chi Minh City to live and had a stable job, with a monthly income of 37 million VND.
Coming from a farming family, Lien understands the hardships and difficulties of farmers in her hometown who have to "work hard" but have low incomes. In addition, since she was young, she has always cherished the dream of getting rich and becoming the owner of her own homeland. Therefore, in 2020, Lien decided to return to her hometown to convince her parents to let her renovate the 3.3-hectare pink grapefruit garden to do sustainable tourism.
Lien said that at that time, although her parents supported her decision, they were also worried that their daughter would not be able to do it. Her friends and neighbors said that she was "not normal" because she had a stable job in Ho Chi Minh City with a very high salary but returned to her hometown to grow tangerines.
“My friends and neighbors often gossip that I am “crazy”, my parents sent me to school and then I do such a ridiculous job. They say that only “devils” would come to do tourism in the middle of nowhere. But with my passion, I am still determined to do it.
I always believed that starting a business using local products such as Lai Vung red grapefruit would be successful. Now, people have turned around to support me. They come to visit and learn about my model of growing red grapefruit for sustainable tourism,” Lien said.
Talking about studying for 3 university degrees but returning home to grow tangerines and work in tourism, Lien said: "Studying abroad in Japan helped me understand the Japanese people and receive Japanese guests more attentively when they come to visit the garden. Studying "business administration" helps me manage human resources, cash flow... Studying "food technology" helps me know how to preserve tangerines and food better... There are many factors that come together, through which I see that studying is very important...", Bich Lien shared.
Lien added that during the season of ripe red tangerines (December), her garden welcomes many tourists; some days the revenue reaches up to 100 million VND.
“Those are Saturdays and Sundays in December, when visitors flock to the pink tangerine garden to visit and check-in. However, on weekdays, sometimes when there are no visitors, the revenue is zero...”, Lien shared and said that each year her family's pink tangerine garden harvests more than 15 tons of fruit, but the revenue from selling fruit only accounts for 1/3 of the revenue, the rest comes from tourism.
To date, 1/3 of Lien's pink grapefruit garden is completely organically cared for. To increase income and contribute to the sustainable development of native pink grapefruit trees, Lien has set aside a separate area in the garden to breed new varieties.
"I want to preserve the traditional values and efforts of my ancestors to maintain the tangerine garden until now, but I cannot keep to the old path. Growing tangerines now costs three times more than my grandfather did, but the yield is not much different, and the risk of pests and diseases is high. Without improvement, it will be difficult for tangerine growers to stick with the garden," Lien shared, adding that she is coordinating with the School of Agriculture (Can Tho University) regarding the project "preserving red tangerine trees in Lai Vung district".
Bich Lien said that this is the first year her pink tangerine garden has been treated to produce fruit in the off-season, and she hopes that the tangerine trees will be able to produce fruit all year round. From then on, the tangerine garden will welcome visitors all year round instead of just 3 months as it is now.
Lien said that in previous years, she earned more than 8 million VND per month from her tangerine garden. However, from this year, Lien believes that her revenue will increase, as the garden is open to visitors all year round.
“Previously, pink grapefruit could only be grown once during Tet. On the 28th of Tet, the crop was harvested for sale and the garden was closed. Watering was only done in the second lunar month and the fruit was harvested again 11 months later. This year, my garden proactively handled the off-season crop on an area of 1 hectare and was successful,” said the female garden owner.
Lai Vung district leaders assessed that Bich Lien is one of the young people in the locality doing tourism with many new ideas and investments.
Her garden also attracts many foreign tourists to visit, contributing to introducing Lai Vung's specialty pink grapefruit to everyone.
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Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/co-gai-co-3-bang-dai-hoc-ve-que-trong-loai-cay-cho-trai-sieu-dep-gay-ngo-ngang-2376120.html
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