A young Tay master in Thai Nguyen makes safe tea, connecting tourism

“Doing things that no one has done or that no one has done” is the direction that Mr. Hoang Van Tuan - Director of Phu Do Safe Tea Cooperative chose to build his own brand. Mr. Tuan chose to do organic farming and eco-tourism experiences towards sustainable agricultural economic development.

Changing mindset in organic tea production

Born and raised in the old tea-growing land of Phu Tho hamlet (Phu Do commune, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province), where 90% of the population is ethnic minorities. As the third generation in a family with a tradition of making tea, from a young age, little Tuan (born in 1993, Tay ethnic group) understood the hardships of tea makers. Especially when he was a 15-year-old boy with a small figure, Tuan had to carry heavy, toxic pesticide bottles up the tea hills to help his parents spray pesticides, causing his thin shoulders and back to become calloused.

Raw material area of ​​Phu Do Safe Tea Cooperative (Phu Tho hamlet, Phu Do commune, Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province). Photo: Kieu Hai

Understanding the hardships and harmful effects of using pesticides on the health of himself, his family and those around him, after graduating from high school, Tuan decided to take the entrance exam to the Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment of the University of Science (Thai Nguyen University).

During his studies at school, being trained and practiced, having the opportunity to approach the organic field, at the same time the Vietnamese organic standards were born, Tuan understood more about the need to change the mindset of the local people where he lived in the production and processing of tea to protect the environment.

The hardships of his childhood helped Mr. Hoang Van Tuan - Director of Phu Do Safe Tea Cooperative change his mindset and switch to organic tea production. Photo: Kieu Hai

Thinking is doing, in 2017 after graduating from the University of Science, Tuan returned to his hometown to continue his family's tea making business (working while studying for a master's degree and a second degree in economic law). Since then, Tuan has gradually changed his tea production method, gradually shifting from traditional production methods to organic production, gradually reducing the amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and replacing them with organic fertilizers and microbiological products.

When the tea plants had adapted and grown stably, in 2021 Tuan completely stopped using pesticides to switch to completely organic production.

Mr. Tuan introduces the cooperative's tea area and the organic tea production process. Photo: LP

In addition to changing his family’s tea production method, Tuan also encouraged people in the area to follow suit. Seeing the benefits of organic production, many households volunteered to follow the path Tuan had taken before.

Sharing with PV Dan Viet, Hoang Van Tuan - Director of Phu Do Safe Tea Cooperative confided: "Ever since I was in high school, I have been involved in trading many different products. Thanks to that, I have a system of relationships and customer files to serve the branding and business of tea products later. In February 2022, I decided to establish Phu Do Safe Tea Cooperative with 7 members to build a brand for my hometown's tea products".

Having gone through many difficulties and hardships, gradually gaining experience, up to now, in addition to member households, Phu Do Safe Tea Cooperative has also cooperated with 36 households in the area to grow tea together to provide input materials for the Cooperative. In 2024, the output of dried tea buds of the Cooperative sold to the market reached 32 tons.

Currently, Phu Do Safe Tea Cooperative has 27.2 hectares of tea growing area, including 5 hectares of organic tea, 5 hectares of ecological tea (ancient midland tea), with 6 main product lines: Tea buds, young tea buds, tea nails, flower tea, leaf tea, and Artemisia vulgaris tea.

Recently, Mr. Tuan's Royal Shrimp product was honored to receive a bronze medal at the 2024 Golden Leaf Awards organized by the Australian Tea Master Association. "This product is associated with the story of the history of tea making culture and the origin of my Hoang family," said Mr. Tuan.

Mr. Tuan's Royal Shrimp product was honored to receive a bronze medal at the 2024 Golden Leaf Awards organized by the Australian Tea Master Association. Photo: Kieu Hai

According to Mr. Tuan, unlike many tea production units today, he chooses the retail model as the main form, does not invest widely, focuses on product quality, in-depth processing, and sells out as soon as production is completed, thus limiting risks because the cost is low but the profit is high.

By operating in a new way, purchasing fresh tea products from people, then processing them into finished products, and then creating conditions for people to sell the cooperative's products to earn commission profits, this is also the way Mr. Tuan helps create more income for people.

Developing experiential ecotourism by preserving core values

Along with tea production and processing, taking advantage of available advantages such as beautiful natural landscapes, fresh and cool climate, Mr. Tuan aims to build a model of eco-tourism, experience, and service trade. Visitors to the cooperative can enjoy tea, experience, and use services such as dining, acupressure massage, herbal foot bath, etc.

The land where Mr. Tuan lives is blessed with a fresh, cool climate and beautiful landscape, very suitable for developing eco-tourism and experiences. Photo: Kieu Hai

For Tuan, doing tourism is not something too lofty, but simply exploiting what is available to bring spiritual values, usefulness and satisfaction to tourists with the motto of slow but sure. This is a sustainable, long-term direction that Tuan has chosen to develop by selling experiential services to customers.

To create a landscape as well as bring more experiences and values ​​to customers, Mr. Tuan is investing in more dining space and fish farming area in his family's yard. In addition, Tuan also cooperates with a number of units and cooperatives in the area to build diverse experience services.

Mr. Tuan leads tourists to experience and enjoy the space of the mountains and hills. Photo: Kieu Hai

In addition to effectively developing the family economy, Hoang Van Tuan is currently participating in local social work with two roles as Deputy Secretary of the Party Cell and Secretary of the Youth Union of Phu Tho hamlet. Through social work, it is a favorable condition for Mr. Tuan to propagate and mobilize people to change their mindset to switch to organic production, towards clean and sustainable agriculture, creating jobs on the spot for many workers in the area, especially those who are past working age so that they do not have to go far away to work. From there, he contributes to reducing the poverty rate in the place where he lives.

Source: https://danviet.vn/mot-thac-sy-tre-nguoi-tay-o-thai-nguyen-lam-che-an-toan-ket-noi-du-lich-20250321231438125.htm