The "Young Millionaires" ... never leave their homeland

(Baonghean.vn) -While many rural youths leave their hometowns to the South and North to find work, they, with the determination to “leave farming but never leave their homeland”, have risen to become “millionaire farmers”, contributing to creating jobs and stable income for many local workers. They are Hoang Minh Khanh and Nguyen Ngoc Anh (Hung Long, Hung Nguyen) - who were honored to receive the Luong Dinh Cua Award for Outstanding Young Farmers in 2011 from the Central Youth Union...

We visited Hoang Minh Khanh's rattan and bamboo production facility in hamlet 12, Hung Long commune (Hung Nguyen) near the International Women's Day, March 8. The workers here are rushing to complete flower baskets and gift baskets of all shapes and sizes to supply the market in time. The young owner, Hoang Minh Khanh (born in 1982), is busy preparing for the export shipment to Da Nang and said: "When I first started my business, I was determined to "eliminate hunger and reduce poverty" with this profession, but I didn't think I would have the success I have today."

Being the only child in a poor rural family, his parents were often sick and unable to work, so after finishing high school, Khanh had to put aside his studies to work and produce, support his family and participate in local Youth Union activities. Facing the wave of "leaving home" of his peers, as a Youth Union secretary and a Party member, Khanh always struggled with the question of how to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty for himself and create jobs for young workers in the locality?At first, Khanh intended to learn mechanical welding and open a mechanical workshop, but one day, by chance, passing by fresh flower shops in Vinh city, he saw many Ha Tay people carrying rattan and bamboo woven products to make flower arrangement accessories such as flower baskets, wreaths and gift baskets... to sell, the young man had the idea of ​​opening a rattan and bamboo handicraft production facility.

Mr. Hoang Minh Khanh's bamboo and rattan weaving facility creates jobs for many workers during off-season farming.

No sooner said than done, Khanh bought one product of each, brought it home to research and try it out. With his ability and dexterity, after a short time he was able to weave all the above products himself. The biggest difficulty was finding the source of raw materials because they were scattered in many different places such as lung, giang, nua... in the mountainous districts of western Nghe An; rattan, heo... in Huong Khe district - Ha Tinh; the tree had to be sent to Ha Giang, Yen Bai and coconut leaves were abundant in Ben Tre province... Not discouraged, Khanh went alone to the North, to the South, to the forest to buy raw materials and made his own products from rattan and bamboo to bring down to Vinh city to sell. With the advantage of good quality, good design, and lower production costs due to reduced transportation costs, Khanh's products were quickly accepted.

To expand production, he gathered youth union members and people in the village to organize free vocational training and received enthusiastic response from everyone. In addition to a number of workers working at the production facility, the young boss Hoang Minh Khanh advocated distributing raw materials so that people could take advantage of their free time to work at home, with wages calculated based on the product. When the production gradually stabilized, Khanh boldly expanded the market to the provinces in the North Central region, from Thanh Hoa to Da Nang and quickly created a brand and reputation. Not stopping there, with the goal of increasingly expanding production and business, improving product quality, and developing the market, he focused on investing in equipment and supporting machinery such as: saws, air compressors, nail guns, etc., expanding the warehouse, drying oven to preserve products, the warehouse and factory area reached 950 m2.²In 2010, when production developed and the quantity of goods increased, the young boss went to driving school and boldly invested 200 million VND to buy a truck to serve the transportation of raw materials and import goods. The total investment capital for production was over 1 billion VND, a part of which was self-owned capital from annual profits, a part borrowed from the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Bank for Social Policies through the Hung Long Commune Youth Union and Hung Nguyen District Youth Union.

From nothing, with his utmost efforts, Hoang Minh Khanh has risen to become a young "millionaire" in the countryside. Up to nowHis production facility has up to 16 types of products, attracting 15 workers to work with a salary of 2,000,000 VND - 3,000,000 VND/person/month; 80 workers regularly receive products to work at home with an average income of 1,200,000 VND - 1,500,000 VND/person/month. In addition, he also creates conditions for 15 - 20 students to work with suitable jobs during their free time at school with an average income of 1,200,000 VND/student/month. Each year, Hoang Minh Khanh's facility produces 200,000 - 250,000 products of all kinds with a total revenue of 3.5 - 4 billion VND, minus expenses, the net profit is about 500 million VND. In addition to developing the production facility, he also invested in trading some related products such as: Importing foam for flower arrangement from Malaysia; silk flower products, colored paper for flower bouquets from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Nam Dinh... Busy with production and business, he still participates in local activities, was elected as Secretary of the Party Cell of Hamlet 12, a delegate of the People's Council of Hung Long Commune and a collaborator in the Communication Team for Sexual Health Education for Youth of Hung Nguyen District Youth Union from 2006 to present.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh gives technical instructions to workers

Also choosing the path of establishing a career right on his homeland like Hoang Minh Khanh, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, born in 1991, a party member, secretary of the Youth Union of Hamlet 11, member of the Executive Committee of the Youth Union of Hung Long Commune, decided to "try his hand" at high-class carpentry. Having a little "professional capital" passed down from his father, but determined that to compete in the market, he must have high skills, before starting his business, Ngoc Anh spent nearly 5 months going to traditional craft villages in Hai Phong, Hanoi, Ha Tay... to work for big owners and have the opportunity to learn the trade. In September 1999, Anh returned to his hometown and borrowed 5 million VND from the poverty reduction loan fund of the District Social Policy Bank to buy tools and raw materials to start producing fine art wooden products. Initially, the capital was small, but with quality products and designs suitable to consumer tastes, the products were sold as soon as they were made. Gradually, the consumption market did not stop at Vinh city and neighboring areas, but also expanded to Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh provinces...

Up to now, Nguyen Ngoc Anh's production facility has expanded to 250m2, producing 11 products, attracting 15 regular workers with salaries from 2,000,000 VND to 3,000,000 VND/worker/month. Each year, he produces 600 - 800 products of all kinds with a total revenue of 2 - 2.5 billion VND. After deducting expenses, the net profit is about 300 - 500 million VND. In addition to developing the production facility, he also invested in installing an additional ice making machine to supply ice to people in the commune and neighboring areas during the hot season and increase his family's income...

Sharing their start-up experiences, the young millionaires said: “In addition to will and determination, it is important that each person chooses a model that suits their own abilities, strengths and local practical conditions…”.

Khanh Ly