From road worker to businesswoman

In the context of a volatile economy, the story of Ms. Hoang Thi Ut (Group 32, Duc Trong Commune) is a vivid testament to the determination, acumen and ability to "turn soil into gold" from peach trees. From a road worker, Ms. Ut and her husband built the famous Duy Khuong peach garden, bringing in billions of dollars in revenue each year and becoming a typical example in the patriotic emulation movement.

Ms. Hoang Thi Ut takes care of peach trees

THE DIFFICULT JOURNEY TO STARTING A CAREER

Born and raised in Hong Viet flower village, Dong Hung, Thai Binh - the "cradle" of traditional peach growing, Ms. Hoang Thi Ut brought her love for ornamental plants and the desire to start a business when she went to Lam Dong to work as a road worker in 1995. Two years later, in 1997, she married a man from the same village. When electricity was available, the couple began to bring kumquat trees from their hometown to experiment with planting about 200 trees.

The market was initially challenging. The couple had to bring the kumquats to sell locally, even hiring a truck to transport them all the way to Saigon to rent a place to sell. However, with innovation and product quality, the reputation spread far and wide, and customers gradually came. For the past 10 years, Ut no longer had to go to the market to sell, but customers came to her house themselves, making the name Duy Khuong peach garden familiar to traders near and far.

After more than a decade of growing kumquat trees (1997 - 2008), Ms. Ut and her husband realized that the economic efficiency was not as expected. With experience growing peach trees from their hometown, in 2008, they boldly changed direction and started to plant the first 100 peach trees for testing. "After growing kumquat trees for a few years, seeing that they were not very effective, my husband and I immediately changed direction and decided to grow and take care of peach trees because we thought that peach trees were expensive and it would be a waste to play with them once and then throw them away!", Ms. Ut shared. In the first year of growing peach trees, the flowering rate was only about 50-60% because they had not fully mastered the techniques and weather conditions in Lam Dong. But with determination and meticulousness, by the second year, the couple had mastered the techniques better, and the number of trees planted and taken care of also gradually increased. Three years later, Ms. Ut decided to completely stop growing kumquat trees to focus entirely on growing peach trees.

Up to now, every Tet holiday, Ms. Ut's Duy Khuong peach garden sells about 3,000 peach trees, along with nearly 2,000 peach trees sent by customers to take care of. "Of the nearly 5,000 peach trees here, about 3,000 are sent by customers to take care of, the other half my husband and I planted to sell or to replace for customers if the peach trees we took care of from customers do not bloom as expected. But God must have been merciful, the weather is mostly favorable, so since we really started this type of business until now, the peach trees have always bloomed beautifully, with a success rate of 90%," Ms. Ut proudly said.

In addition to growing peaches, since 2008, Ms. Ut and her husband have also rented 2 hectares of land to grow vegetables (la Ghim). However, since 2021, she has stopped growing her Pin to focus entirely on peach trees.

"NATURAL FRAGRANCE"

“A good peach tree needs no bush”, the brilliant peach trees under Ms. Ut's skillful hands have attracted customers not only in Duc Trong but also from Da Lat, Lam Ha, Di Linh and even Saigon. Many people after Tet have sent their peach trees to the couple for care. With a care fee ranging from 2 million VND/tree, this is a service that is considered quite “soft” compared to buying a new tree. With her constant efforts, Ms. Hoang Thi Ut's peach garden has brought in a desirable source of income. On average, each year, after deducting expenses, the couple can earn 1 billion VND.

Ut's success is not limited to the family scale. In the past 6-7 years, her two brothers have also switched to growing peach trees and she has enthusiastically guided them on techniques and introduced them to initial buyers. Notably, since 2018, Ut's son, after finishing 12th grade, has also followed his parents' profession, continuing the family tradition.

Not only is she good at economics, Ms. Hoang Thi Ut also actively participates in community activities. She is currently the Vice President of the Women's Association of Group 32, Duc Trong Commune, and is a typical example in implementing the patriotic emulation movement for the period 2020 - 2025, and has just been awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Lam Dong Provincial Women's Union.

The story of Ms. Hoang Thi Ut is a great source of inspiration, affirming that, with perseverance, passion and constant effort, anyone can achieve success and contribute to the common development of the community.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/tu-cong-nhan-cau-duong-den-nu-doanh-nhan-381229.html