(HBO) - Not only blessed with a cool climate and beautiful landscapes, Pa Co commune in Mai Chau district is also renowned for its centuries-old Shan tuyet tea trees. Local residents have taken efforts to preserve the local unique traditional tea processing method to create a distinctive flavour that cannot be found anywhere else.
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Dung Y Thuy’s
family in Cha Day hamlet, Pa Co commune plants nearly 1.5ha of tea trees, which
brings a stable income of 200 -250 million VND (8,500 – 10,600 USD) each year.
Preserving traditional craft
Growing tea trees has been a part of the daily
life and culture of the Mong people in Pa Co for hundreds of years, and the tea
production sector also evolved from that.
The tea production process has become much
simpler with the support of machinery. However, many households in Pa Co still
preserve the traditional manual tea roasting method.
To produce a quality batch of tea, it is
recommended to pick the leaves early in the morning before 10 am and after 3
pm, said Sung Y Thuy in Cha Day hamlet.
Pa Co tea specialty
For a long time, Pa Co dried tea has been
popular in and outside the province, commanding a relatively high price. The
product has helped improve the livelihoods of local tea growers.
Planting tea trees not only brings high economic
value but also contributes to promoting experiential tourism development in the
locality.
Visitors to Pa Co are often amazed at and
delighted to explore ancient tea trees, and experience the traditional tea
production process of the Mong people community.
Nguyen Van Khanh from Hanoi said he is impressed
at the traditional tea production process of Mong people in Pa Co.
Phang A Song, Chairman of the Farmers'
Association in Pa Co commune said the tea roasting process takes a considerable
amount of time.
"It takes 2-3 hours to produce a delicious and
flavourful tea products that embodies the sweet and bitter taste of Pa Co tea”,
he said.
Developing Pa Co tea brand
Pa Co commune is home to 82ha of tea, including
over 200 ancient Shan tuyet tea trees. Thanks to the natural care process, the
ancient trees generate good-quality products, bringing high income to local
farmers.
Over recent years, the Farmers' Union of Mai Chau district has implemented numerous specific programmes and activities to support its members in developing products under the One Commune One (OCOP) programme. These efforts have contributed to enhancing local agricultural branding, increasing goods value, and improving incomes and living standards for residents.
Since 2022, the Hoa Binh Department of Education and Training has provided advice for the provincial People's Committee to issue Plan No. 219/KH-UBND on November 17, 2022, which outlines the implementation of a project titled "Enhancing the application of Information Technology (IT) and Digital Transformation in Education and Training for the 2022–2025 period, with a vision to 2030.” As of now, the local education sector has made significant progress in IT adoption and digital transformation.
Hoa Binh allocated over 30 trillion VND (nearly 1.18 billion USD) to develop infrastructure systems in ethnic minority and mountainous areas during 2019 - 2024. Priority was given to transport and irrigation infrastructure; markets; schools; medical stations; communal houses; and power grid, telecommunication, radio, and television systems.
The Hoa Binh provincial organising committee for anniversary activities on December 17 held a ceremony to unveil a ceramic mural on the local military-civilian ties and release a book on the Party and political work of the provincial armed forces during 1947 – 2024, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and 35th anniversary of the All-People Defence Festival.
In recent years, Hoa Binh has allocated significant resources to foster cooperative economy, helping ethnic minorities capitalise on their potential and advantages to escape poverty.
As a mountainous district still facing numerous challenges, Da Bac has made notable progress in advancing administrative reforms across various areas. The district has prioritised reorganising and streamlining its administrative apparatus, operating "one-stop-shop” units, and applying information technology (IT) in the handling of administrative procedures. Efforts have also been directed toward upgrading infrastructure and equipment to enhance service quality for residents and businesses.
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