The person who "helped" the Shan Tuyet tea brand reach the world

Ban Lien has become a famous Shan Tuyet tea growing area that attracts tourists to experience.

Meeting Mr. Pham Quang Than, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Ban Lien Tea Cooperative, he shared: “I was born in Thanh Son district, Phu Tho province. When I first set foot in Ban Lien in 2006 (that was also the time when Ban Lien Tea Cooperative was established), the houses in the village were mostly made of bamboo and mud walls, and were rickety. These things urged me to find ways to develop the economy for the people, so I decided to stick with this land.”

At that time, Ban Lien had no market, no national electricity grid; 100% of the population were ethnic minorities, with low education level and backward farming practices. “Although people called me a cadre, they did not believe what I said. When I went to draw maps of rice and tea areas, people stopped me because they were afraid that I would take their fields. I encouraged people to join cooperative groups, but they refused because they were afraid of having to pay a lot of money. I had to ask to stay at the old director's house to gain their trust. I brought my wife and children, asked for land to cultivate, and the whole family grew tea together. Gradually, I gained their trust,” said Than.

Mr. Pham Quang Than, the person who helped the Shan Tuyet Ban Lien - Bac Ha tea brand reach the world.

In 2009, Mr. Than was elected by the villagers as Chairman of Ban Lien Tea Cooperative. With the new task, with full authority to manage Ban Lien Tea Cooperative, Mr. Than proactively completed the procedures to register organic products and participated in the fair trade organization for Shan tea products of Ban Lien Tea Cooperative. Up to now, Ban Lien Tea Cooperative has gathered 430 members who are cooperative households directly participating in the organic tea growing process.

Currently, 90% of the tea produced at Ban Lien Cooperative is exported to Europe (EU), the US, Canada... In the first 8 months of this year, more than 50 tons of tea were exported, with an average export price of up to 100,000 USD/ton. Of which, Pu-erh tea, black tea, pink buds, and white buds have the highest selling prices. In the past 3 years, Ban Lien tea export output has increased by an average of 10-15%/year. The average price ranges from 16 - 22 thousand VND/kg, helping members of the cooperative have a stable income.

Ban Lien Organic Tea Cooperative contributes to solving jobs, stable income for farmers, and sustainable poverty reduction.

Located nearly 30 km from the center of Bac Ha district, Ban Lien commune has a climate, soil, and land suitable for growing tea. Ban Lien tea trees have been grown for a long time in villages Doi 1, 2, 3, 4 in the tea region with a total tea area of ​​nearly 1,000 hectares, of which there are over 800 hectares of organic tea.

Mr. Vang A Su, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ban Lien Commune, said that Shan tea in Ban was recognized as the first 5-star OCOP product in Lao Cai since 2019. Over the past 5 years, Ban Lien Commune has coordinated with Ban Lien Organic Tea Cooperative to improve the quality of tea trees, promote the development of organic Shan Tuyet tea products, and mobilize people to apply science and technology to produce organic tea according to the correct process and technical standards.

Thanks to the income from growing organic Shan Tuyet tea, people in Doi 4 village, Ban Lien commune have money to contribute to building a new concrete road, opening up opportunities to change their lives.

Team 4 is the farthest village, nearly 7km from the center of Ban Lien commune in the primeval forest. Taking us to visit the village, Village Chief Lam A An said that the village has 41 households, with 207 Tay ethnic people. Currently, the village has more than 80 hectares of organic Shan Tuyet tea. Most of the tea-growing households in the village are members of the Ban Lien Tea Cooperative.

Tea trees are the main source of income, helping people escape poverty and contribute money and effort to build new rural areas. Over the past 5 years, the Tay people of Team 4 have actively donated land, money and labor to pour concrete for a 7km long route from the commune center to the village, each household contributed over 7 million VND, the total contribution of the people in the village was nearly 300 million VND.

Homestay A Binh in Doi 4 village, Ban Lien commune is famous for attracting domestic and international tourists.

Mr. Vang A Binh's family is a typical household in Doi 4 village and Ban Lien commune in developing the homestay tourism model associated with organic tea growing... This is also the only household in the village doing agricultural tourism. Currently, his family has over 12 hectares of Shan tea trees, including 5 hectares of ancient tea trees from 50 - 60 years old, giving an average income of over 100 million VND/year from growing and harvesting tea.

With the great contribution of Ban Lien Organic Tea Cooperative headed by Director Pham Quang Than, in 2020, the Cooperative was honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister. This is also a worthy reward for the journey of successfully building the Ban Lien Shan Tuyet tea brand, making tea a key crop for economic development, improving the lives of the people here.

Sweet and astringent tea fields

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/nguoi-chap-canh-thuong-hieu-che-shan-tuyet-vuon-tam-the-gioi-1736395005752.htm