Lesson 1: Starting a business from the village
Innovative startup activities among youth union members in rural areas of Nghe An province are becoming increasingly vibrant, deeply exploiting the advantages and potential of the locality. With the support and assistance of various levels of government and the Youth Union, many young people have received both spiritual and material support to boldly pursue their startup ideas, thereby developing OCOP products.
GIVING WOOD A "SOUL"
Born and raised in a family with a tradition of woodworking, Tran Ngoc Huy (born in 1992) from Tho Son hamlet, Tho Hop commune, Quy Hop district, has had a passion for wood carving art since childhood and dreamed of "giving soul to wood." After graduating from the Mechanical Engineering department of the University of Industry in 2015, Huy continued to equip himself with knowledge about handcrafted wood art.
I spent time traveling to many different places to learn, hone my skills, and absorb new knowledge. After a period of research and learning, I returned to my hometown in Tho Hop commune, opened a wood carving workshop, and improved my skills by accepting orders to carve images on wood that people brought to me.”
Mr. Tran Ngoc Huy - Tho Son hamlet, Tho Hop commune, Quy Hop district
Nearly four years have passed, and now, confident in his skills, Huy boldly invested in advanced machinery to produce intricate patterns on wooden materials. This reduces labor, increases productivity and product quality, and speeds up the processing, leading to large-scale production. The total investment is 700 million VND; revenue is approximately 400 million VND per year; profit is around 250 million VND per year, with products sold within the province and other provinces and cities. Huy's fine art woodworking facility currently employs four workers, with an average income of 6 million VND per person per month.
“In Tho Hop commune, where the majority of the population are ethnic Tho people, many families have long-standing timber trees such as jackfruit and teak, which are ready for harvesting to replace them with new trees. With the abundant and diverse timber resources in the locality, a stable and high-quality supply of raw materials is always ensured for the workshop. I utilize the raw materials sourced locally within the commune and district, along with my own skills, to create wooden paintings,” Huy shared.
Mr. Tran Duc Tho, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tho Hop commune, said: "Although the scale of the facility is not yet large, it has great significance in encouraging the youth movement to develop the local economy. The production facility has helped many households in the district earn a considerable income from garden timber and salvaged wood. During production, the facility generates a large amount of sawdust, which is a major source of raw materials for the commune's Farmers' Association to cultivate mushrooms, creating a strong relationship between local people and the business. In 2022, Mr. Tran Ngoc Huy's wooden paintings (successful horse paintings, wooden calendars) were certified as typical rural industrial products at the provincial level and received a 3-star OCOP product award."
Currently, Quy Hop district has 8 products that have achieved "3 stars" (including: Gynostemma pentaphyllum tea bags, freeze-dried Centella asiatica powder, honey from Tinh Sang Duong Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Cooperative, Yen Hop commune; Sinh Nhan clean oranges from Sinh Nhan Cooperative, Nghia Xuan commune; Luat Hong free-range chicken meat from the Agricultural Service Cooperative of the town; handcrafted wooden paintings from Tran Ngoc Huy business household, Tho Hop commune; dried pineapple and dried winter melon products from Hasafood Nghe An Joint Stock Company) and 1 product upgraded to 4 stars (crispy dried jackfruit product from Hasafood Nghe An Joint Stock Company).OCOP productsAmong them, Ngoc Huy's fine art wood carvings are expected to be groundbreaking products for Quy Hop district in the future.
ELEVATING LOCAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Besides Tran Ngoc Huy's efforts in exploiting the economic value of wood products and creating jobs for local workers, startup competitions have helped hundreds of young people from districts and towns choose to develop their businesses using products from their own villages. Among them, in 2023, two young entrepreneurs emerged from the "Startup Ideas and Projects for Youth" competition. They surpassed hundreds of young entrepreneurs from 63 provinces and cities nationwide to join 43 other exemplary individuals who received the Luong Dinh Cua Award from the Central Youth Union in 2023. These are Pham Van Tuan (born in 1991) and Tran Thi Hong Tham (born in 1992), both members of the 9X generation.
Born and raised in Nam Nghia (Nam Dan district), Pham Van Tuan, with a belief in exploiting the value of local agricultural products, chose to start his business in his hometown despite studying Information Technology. His chosen product is processed animal feed made from the local specialty of Nam Nghia commune – pork sausage.
In July 2020, after a period of market research and raw material surveys, Tuan collaborated with some friends to establish the Me Nam Nghia Cooperative. By leveraging the advantages of local produce to meet quality standards, combined with acquired information technology knowledge, and effectively mobilizing investment capital for quality products while promoting them, the cooperative quickly achieved a market supply of 100 tons per year. Simultaneously, the cooperative's authentic "village" products achieved OCOP 4-star certification and were sold to many provinces and cities nationwide, entering well-known supermarket distribution systems. Despite being a busy "business owner," Pham Van Tuan still actively participates in local Youth Union activities and joins the local Youth Economic Development Club, contributing to inspiring young people in his hometown to boldly develop their businesses.
Sharing the same entrepreneurial spirit from her hometown, Ms. Tran Thi Hong Tham from Quynh Van commune (Quynh Luu district) chose a product that the people of the coastal area of Quynh Luu have been producing for hundreds of years to start her business: salt. However, with her youthful energy, knowledge, research skills, and the support of her family and local authorities, Tham invested in research.Improving the quality and value of salt grainsFollowing a direction of deep processing to serve human health care needs, out of more than 20 salt-based products, 3 products have been recognized with OCOP 3-star certification under the name Nanosalt.
Tham's entrepreneurial success has opened up avenues for deeper exploration of the value and enhancement of agricultural products from farmers in Quynh province. Tran Thi Hong Tham's business has been certified by the Department of Science and Technology as a science and technology enterprise of Nghe An province. Her Nanosalt technology project was highly praised by the National Science Council and awarded the Third Prize at the 2022 VIFOTEC National Awards by the inter-ministerial organizing committee. Tran Thi Hong Tham also received a Certificate of Merit for Youth Creativity from the Central Youth Union and the Luong Dinh Cua Award in 2023.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union, thanks to the effective implementation of the "One Commune, One Product" program, Nghe An currently has over 400 products ranked OCOP 3 stars or higher, a large number of which are models and products of young people, especially in rural areas. Besides coordinating support for youth union members in accessing loans and providing policy advice to support startups, the Youth Union at all levels also proactively links and seeks markets for OCOP products for young people, such as connecting supply and demand, displaying youth booths at exhibitions and startup competitions, especially focusing on startup models and projects based on "village products"...