Fueling the economic development of female entrepreneurs in the highlands

With the support of Women's Unions at all levels, the Industry and Trade sector, and programs to support trade development in mountainous, remote and island areas, more and more female leaders are inspiring women to develop the economy, bringing highland agricultural products "down the mountain" to reach further.

On an early summer morning, the Trai Cai tea area in Dong Hy commune, Thai Nguyen province, stretches out like a lush green carpet. The cheerful voices and laughter of women meticulously picking tea echo across the rolling hills. On the land that has been associated with tea trees for generations, now there is not only the fragrant scent of tea, but also the enduring and silent aspirations for change of the highland women.

Ms. Uong Thi Lan's family has been growing tea for four generations. But for many years, the tea trees were only enough for the family to survive. When people abandoned their tea hills to find other livelihoods, Ms. Lan was determined to stick with the profession. Not accepting the situation of taking care of each tea tree all year round but not earning much income, in 2011, Ms. Uong Thi Lan decided to establish the Nguyen Viet Safe Tea Cooperative. At first, she had nothing but faith and 50 million VND in capital borrowed from the Thai Nguyen Province Cooperative Union.

"The initial establishment period was very difficult and arduous because as a farmer who only knew about tea trees, I had very vague concepts about the law, procedures, and documents for establishing a cooperative. Then I met with officials from the Department of Science and Technology of Thai Nguyen province, officials from the Department of Agriculture , Department of Industry and Trade... Everything was gradually resolved," Ms. Lan recalled.

The turning point came to her and the cooperative when they successfully received orders to purchase products for the entire city of Cao Bang. After that order, other orders from Vinh Phuc , Hanoi, Quang Ninh... also followed.

Members of Nguyen Viet Safe Tea Cooperative produce tea for the 2025 summer crop

Nguyen Viet Safe Tea Cooperative has also grown gradually. From 7 initial members, the Cooperative now has 31 official members, associated with 32 households, of which more than 95% are ethnic minority women. The Cooperative also cooperates with households to form an additional 400ha raw material area. The Cooperative imposes constraints, farmers only harvest by hand, the process of caring for tea must have a diary, to manage the time of harvesting, spraying pesticides, etc.

Platforms for women in the highlands to do business

The success of Ms. Uong Thi Lan does not come from a single individual, but is a testament to the strength of connection, leadership and support from grassroots organizations. Among them, there is the support of the Minh Lap Commune Women's Union, the Farmers' Association, the Cooperative Union, etc.

Ms. Bui Viet Nga, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and President of the Women's Union of Dong Hy Commune, said that the Women's Union of the commune not only organizes training courses on tea planting, care and harvesting techniques, but also accompanies women in raising awareness of food safety and ensuring traceability, which are necessary conditions for products to reach far in the modern market. The Women's Union of the commune is also a bridge to help the cooperative connect with the market, with the Department of Industry and Trade, and with trade promotion programs to promote products.

Not only the Women's Union, the Thai Nguyen Industry and Trade sector also plays an important role in the journey of "fueling" female entrepreneurs in the highlands. For women in the highlands, the most important thing is not only capital but also knowledge and economic skills, so many training courses are organized locally, providing guidance on how to build a brand, make labels, design packaging, and access modern sales channels such as e-commerce platforms...

Ms. An Thi Huong, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Dong Hy commune (right cover), Ms. Bui Viet Nga, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, Chairwoman of the Women's Union of Dong Hy commune visited and worked at Nguyen Viet Tea Cooperative.

From that practical support, Nguyen Viet Tea Cooperative has had 5 OCOP products, of which 4 products have achieved 4 stars, affirming that the quality is not inferior to famous tea regions such as Tan Cuong or La Bang...

Removing bottlenecks to bring highland agricultural products "down the mountain"

Although cooperatives and female entrepreneurs in mountainous, remote and isolated areas have received support, the development of the mountainous economy still faces many challenges. The biggest barrier today is product quality and standardization, and female entrepreneurs in mountainous areas still need support to develop a sustainable distribution system, support production organization according to the value chain and improve market access capacity.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also taking the lead in implementing the Trade Development Program for mountainous, remote, isolated and island areas, with many activities, conferences and seminars to connect production and product consumption, support localities in developing trade in these areas, to build and develop a distribution system for goods and services, and narrow the gap in trade development between mountainous, remote, isolated and island areas and other regions.

On the lush green tea hills of Trai Cai, thanks to the companionship and support, many female leaders like Ms. Uong Thi Lan are continuing to "fuel" generations of highland women to rise up to develop the economy, bringing highland agricultural products "down the mountain" to reach further.

Urgently amend the criteria for allocating capital for the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/tiep-lua-cho-nu-doanh-nhan-vung-cao-phat-trien-kinh-te-20250724153138245.htm