Nghe An women write 'green dreams'

Female pharmacist rises from crippled legs

On a tricycle for the disabled, Ms. Pham Thi Phuong (born in 1982) led us to the model of "Growing pennywort using circulating hydroponics" in Nghi Huong ward, Cua Lo town.

Those who come into contact with Ms. Phuong will almost forget her disabled legs, forget that she is a second-generation victim of Agent Orange, but instead, they will forever remember her radiant face, her quick gestures in communication and at work. Perhaps that positive life energy has motivated her to research and learn to implement a meaningful model, to increase the value of local pennywort, helping her receive the Encouragement Prize of the Competition."Women start-up innovation and green transformation nationwide by 2024".

Born and raised in Nghi Huong, Ms. Pham Thi Phuong is familiar with the gardens planted with pennywort. This simple vegetable not only makes a delicious dish in family meals, but also is an ingredient in a delicious, cool drink, soothing the harsh sun and wind of the coastal land every summer.

However, when the land is limited and the population is crowded, pennywort from its place on spacious garden plots, is increasingly difficult to find a place to grow. From that reality, Ms. Phuong has nurtured the idea of ​​building a pennywort growing model that is both clean, safe, and saves land area. To meet these two conditions, the only way to grow pennywort is by hydroponics.

As a pharmacist, always eager to learn about biology, she searched for research documents and together with her husband invested 200 million VND to build a model with an area of ​​more than 200m2.². In particular, more than 1,200m of pipes were installed to contain aquatic water, with holes drilled in each pipe to create a substrate for the ideal living environment for pennywort. Under the pipe system are adjacent fish ponds, creating a reasonable connection between livestock and cultivation. The model has harvested its first crop with nearly 100kg of finished products at the end of last September.

According to experts, the gotu kola plant from her model grows well, has stable quality, and is chosen by many customers after drying. Although there are still many things that need to be perfected to put the model into operation and development, with tireless efforts, Ms. Phuong and her husband believe that it will not be difficult to do.

Accompanying his wife throughout the journey, Mr. Phan Le Han shared that since birth, his wife's legs had almost lost the ability to move, growing up with wooden crutches and a wheelchair. Instead of being discouraged and self-conscious, with an optimistic spirit, Ms. Phuong studied with passion and determination. After graduating from high school, she passed the entrance exam to Nghe An Medical College, majoring in Pharmacy.

In 2008, she graduated and applied for jobs at many medical facilities and businesses. However, due to the disadvantage of not being able to move flexibly, she had almost no chance of being hired.

Therefore, since 2010, she opened her own pharmacy to sell. At first, it was just simple small medicine boxes, but with her professional knowledge, she made efforts to expand the store. Now, when she is determined to find a way to build a new economic model, he always puts his trust in his wife to wholeheartedly help.

He believes that this model is not only an advanced farming method but also a way for Ms. Phuong to prove her will to live. Looking at his wife driving the 3-wheeled vehicle every day from the store to the vegetable growing model, he smiled and confided: "That's her, always full of positive energy, always strong enough to overcome all obstacles to become a source of inspiration for me and those around her...".

Building a green brand from scratch

In recent days, the news that the Project "Nutritional ecosystem from green agricultural products" by Ms. Nguyen Thi Men (born in 1991) - Director of Mom Beauty Production and Trading Company Limited (Vinh city) was awarded the Special Prize at the National "Women's Creative Startup and Green Transformation" Competition in 2024 has brought great pride to Nghe An women.

Few people know that behind that outstanding achievement is a journey of building a career from scratch of the girl from the mountainous district of Tan Ky.

Men confided that she was born into a farming family in Nghia Dong commune, Tan Ky district. In 2015, she got married and left her hometown to live in Vinh city. Having graduated with a degree in Accounting, she always cherished the desire to work in her field. However, because she had just given birth to a baby, she temporarily put her dream aside to fulfill her duty as a mother. Realizing that her child had signs of malnutrition, she was very worried and tried to make powdered food for her child. Seeing that her child's health and physical condition were getting better and better, she shared the products she had made on social networks.

These posts attracted a lot of attention from mothers in and outside the city. From there, they placed their first orders for her to make. As the number of customers increased, she had to rent a room, buy machines and focus on making each product perfect. Until 2018, realizing the increasing demand for nutritional cereal powder products, she decided to establish a company.

When she started her business, she faced many difficulties due to limited capital and fierce market competition. However, with her business acumen and certain experience in creating quality products, she gradually overcame the difficulties in managing the company.

After many efforts, her company has achieved many achievements such as Top 10 famous brands - products/services of Asean in 2022; Top 10 Golden Stars of Vietnamese Brands in 2020 and 2023; 4-star quality OCOP certificate awarded by Nghe An Provincial People's Committee... However, for her, the important thing is that she has become a support and inspiration to support many women to have a stable income from her model.

In addition to 50 female workers working directly at the production workshops, she has also expanded the chain of 46 stores selling products nationwide. From here, more than 2,000 mothers have connected with agents and stores to build sales channels, contributing to economic independence and stable lives. At the same time, she is a bridge to consume agricultural products for 19 farming households specializing in growing seeds in Tan Ky, Nam Dan, Nghia Dan, and Hung Nguyen districts with stable quantities.

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This is not just a journey to build a brand, but more importantly, we want to spread the belief and encourage women around us to dare to pursue their dreams. We believe that every woman has the right to dream and can turn that dream into reality with determination and constant effort...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Men