Farm dissolved, tea trees fade away
Perhaps many Ninh Binh people today, even Tam Diep children, especially the young, do not know that Dong Son commune used to be a famous tea production area. But in fact, because Dong Son has a typical semi-mountainous terrain, with many gentle hills and mountains, the soil is mainly red clay, so it is very suitable for tea trees. Since the 60s and 70s of the last century, tea trees have been present in this land.
In 1972, Tam Diep Tea Farm was established. Mr. Nguyen Dang Dung, Director of the Farm at that time, shared: Tam Diep Tea Farm produces and trades in many different areas such as: cattle breeding, forest planting, but tea production and processing is the main. During its prosperous period, the tea area of the Farm reached more than 100 hectares, producing and processing hundreds of tons of dry tea each year. The tea hills are always green, bustling with pickers, and wherever you go, you can smell the aroma of tea.
Regarding the quality of tea, Mr. Dung affirmed: tea trees are very picky about soil, not everywhere can grow tea and not everywhere is good tea. Tea trees have their own ecological requirements and fortunately Dong Son land is blessed with these conditions by nature. Therefore, the quality of tea here is excellent. "However, in the later stages, due to the traditional thinking and production and business methods no longer being suitable for the market economy and many other reasons, in 2005 the Farm had to be dissolved" - Former Director of Tam Diep Tea Farm sadly said.
The main tea processing and consumption unit in the region stopped operating, causing tea growers to be devastated because their products could not be sold. Skilled workers returned to small-scale production, trying to stick with the profession but could not keep it for long. There were vast tea fields that were converted to grow corn, potatoes, cassava, and recently peach trees, but some areas were abandoned. The reputation of Tam Diep tea gradually faded.
And the passion of young people
As a native of Ninh Binh, deeply attached to the hometown tea region, passionate about tea culture and quite proud of the once-famous tea region, Pham Thi Hong Quy and Tong Duy Hien are always concerned about how to revive the vitality of the Dong Son tea region. With the advantage of having studied at university majoring in agriculture, having worked in the field of supplying materials for the tea industry, having set foot in all tea regions in the country, and having a solid in-depth knowledge of tea plants, at the end of 2018, Quy and her husband made a bold decision: Quitting their jobs at the company to build a tea production facility. After many days and months of surveying and learning about the current status of tea plants in Dong Son, the couple started building a factory, establishing the Tam Diep Flower, Ornamental Plants and Agricultural Products Cooperative in Village 1, Dong Son Commune.
Ms. Quy shared: The tea in Tam Diep has very good quality, mild astringency and a rich aftertaste. In particular, in Dong Son, there are still families that have kept tea hills that are decades old. If they invest in proper care and fertilization, they will be very valuable. However, there are two biggest difficulties that the cooperative has to face when starting to work. The first is how to convince people to return to tea trees and change their production mindset. Because for a long time, people often just follow their habits, see bad tea and fertilize it, see pests and diseases and spray pesticides arbitrarily, without taking notes or following any regulations. While consumer demands are increasingly strict, if food safety and hygiene requirements are not guaranteed, there will be no place for them. Second, Tam Diep tea has long been prejudiced because there was a time when tea was processed manually on a household scale, the quality was uneven, and there was no strict control, so when it comes to Tam Diep tea, consumers no longer have much trust.
With no other way, Ms. Quy and her colleagues had to persevere, propagate, and persuade, from the old production mindset, people have approached the methodical and safe way of making tea. Regarding the market, thanks to the strict implementation of raw material area management, focusing on investing in modern machinery and technology, constantly innovating designs, and diversifying product types, the cooperative's tea products have gradually regained the love and trust of many consumers. Currently, the cooperative's An Nguyen branded green tea products are present in many provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Thanh Hoa, and Nam Dinh. The products are sold as soon as they are made. On average, each year the facility produces about 40 tons of dry tea, equivalent to the consumption of about 240 tons of fresh tea buds for farmers.
Joy returns to the farmers
We visited some households that are growing tea in association with the Tam Diep Flower, Ornamental Plants and Agricultural Products Cooperative and saw the joy and excitement of tea growers when the traditional crop that they have been attached to for many years is now revived, bringing prosperity and abundance to them.
On a tea hill of more than 2 hectares of lush green tea, Ms. Le Thi Ngát (village 12, Dong Son commune) is quickly harvesting the last batch of buds of the year. Ms. Ngát said: Her family's tea hill has been planted for decades. Before, there was no dry tea processing facility in the area, so the branches were only cut once a year to sell to traders for fresh tea consumption, so the income was not worth much. However, since the cooperative provided guidance on care techniques and all products were purchased, her family's economy has improved significantly. During the main season, every 25-30 days, she can pick a batch of buds, earning 15-20 million VND.
Sharing the same joy as Mrs. Ngát, welcoming us in his newly built spacious house, Mr. Do Van Hue, also from village 12, excitedly shared: Luckily, since 2019, with the encouragement of the cooperative, my family has been able to have this property. Applying techniques, the tea trees have a completely different yield. Like this year, on 1 hectare of tea, my family harvested 8 batches of buds, 1 batch of branches, with a batch with a peak yield of up to 2.5 tons. In total, I sold 17 tons of tea buds to the cooperative, at a price of 20,000 VND/kg, my family earned nearly 350 million VND, many times higher than before. If this continues, there is no reason why we should not stick with it and expand the tea growing area.
Mr. Pham Dinh Cu, Chairman of Dong Son Commune People's Committee, affirmed: In fact, the local land is very suitable for tea trees. Therefore, the commune encourages and accompanies the cooperative and the people to maintain and expand the tea area as well as develop more local OCOP products from tea, combined with tourism and experience activities.
Regarding future plans, Mr. Tong Duy Hien, Director of Tam Diep Flower, Ornamental Plants and Agricultural Products Cooperative, shared: Last year, in addition to traditional tea products, the Cooperative developed additional products such as tea bags, high-quality lotus tea, and magnolia tea, which were enthusiastically received by consumers. Continuing that momentum, we will continue to research and produce new product lines to suit different customer segments.
Along with expanding the market, the cooperative wants to expand the raw material area, strengthen technical guidance, and introduce new tea varieties to help people increase tea productivity. At the same time, strive to increase the purchase price of raw materials so that people can feel secure in sticking with tea plants.
Article, photos, videos: Nguyen Luu
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