A movement to promote the proactive engagement of women in the study, creative labour and building prosperous and happy families is spreading more and more widely in the local women’s unions in Hoa Binh, attracting a large number of women. Bui Thi Xiem, Director of Thien Loi An medicinal herbs cooperative in Kim Boi commune, Kim Boi district, emerges as one of typical examples in implementing the movement.
Bui Thi Xiem (R), Director of the Thien Loi An medicinal herbs cooperative in Kim Boi commune, Kim Boi district, is a typical example in a movement to promote women’s startups and creative labour.
Xiem decided to establish the cooperative in 2020 to connect production and bring medicinal herbs to the market nationwide. Since its establishment, the cooperative averagely supplies nearly 10,000 medicinal herbs of all kinds to the market a year.
She said her family has been practicing traditional herbal medicine for a long time, regularly purchasing medicinal herbs from local people, so she understands the characteristics of herbal medicines. The formation of the cooperative is expected to create stable jobs for rural labourers and contribute to conserving rare medicinal plants.
So far, the cooperative has offered many products in the market, including Homalomena aromatica jelly, Celastrus approximatus Craib jelly, Solanum procumbens jelly, and Panax Notoginseng jelly. To achieve success, Xiem has gone through many difficulties and challenges, requiring her to be determined, learn, and gain experience to create a unique feature for her products.
The cooperative has cooperated with 16 households to grow medicinal plants with a total area of 5 ha, serving processing and production activities. Many households in Kim Boi commune have had additional income from growing medicinal plants.
The cooperative's annual revenue reaches over 500 million VND (nearly 19,700 USD), creating regular jobs for six workers with a monthly income of 5 - 6 million VND each; and over 40 part-time labourers.
Chairwoman of the women's union of Kim Boi commune Bui Thi Trang said Xiem is an active member in the women's movement, and an exemplary figure in exploring, starting a business, and effectively developing household economics in the locality.
With her idea to process medicinal herbs has initially produced positive results, utilising the available medicinal resources of the locality, while preserving traditional remedies, and creating stable income for her family.
Xiem aims to develop Homalomena aromatica cream product into an OCOP (One Commune, One Product) item in 2024. She also plans to enhance the promotion and introduction of her products through e-commerce channels to access more consumers.
The Department of Industry and Trade of Hoa Binh in collaboration with the People's Committee of Da Bac district launched an exhibition fair on November 26 at the Da Bac District stadium, displaying unique products of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas in the district.
As part of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Hoa Binh Province Da River Fish and Shrimp Festival, the auction of specialty fish from the Hoa Binh reservoir attracted significant attention.
The 2nd Da River Fish and Shrimp Festival took place in the northern province of Hoa Binh from November 19-23. Present at the opening ceremony of the festival were Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Phi Long, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Tri, Chairman of the provincial People's Council Bui Duc Hinh, and Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Bui Van Khanh, among others.
The 17th Congress of the Hoa Binh provincial Party Organisation for the 2020–2025 term set out 19 key objectives and tasks, including four targets for the agriculture sector namely an average growth rate of 4.5% for agriculture-forestry-fisheries; forest coverage of over 51.5%; access to clean water for 95% of the rural population; and 70% of communes achieving new rural standards.
The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on November 20 coordinated with Hai Dang Group Hoa Binh Seafood Company Limited to release 1.5 tonnes of fries into Hoa Binh Lake to regenerate aquatic resources, with a total value of 266 million VND (10,460 USD).
