the journey of exploring new land
FINDING THE CLEAN MATERIAL AREA
HMONG COFFEE FARM | Dak G'Long - Dak Nong Province
RECLAMATION JOURNEY
Quang Hop Hamlet, Quang Son Commune, Dak G’Long District is located in the Southeast of Dak Nong Province; the East side borders Dam Rong District, Lam Dong Province; the Northeast side borders Lak District, Dak Lak Province. This is an area where the national electricity system has not yet reached, has pristine soil and lies separately from the outside world. It takes 20 minutes by motorbike to cross the dangerous mountain pass and the muddy red soil to reach HMONG FARM – the first 20-hectare coffee farm located deep in the mountains, at an altitude of 1,400 meters from sea level.
AND THE DESTINY
FOUND THE NEW MATERIAL AREA
Mỹ Linh shared: ” My previous land has a hot climate. Dak Nong has a cold climate, temperature at night can drop to 8-9 degrees Celsius, in the morning it can rise to 20 degrees Celsius. This is a very suitable temperature for coffee plants to grow and not dry out.
On the other hand, the old land has undergone a long time of usage, therefore the soil has contained many chemicals that prevent the tree from growing in a clean and organic direction. While in Dak Nong, HMONG FARM enjoys the full source of fertile red basalt soil, with high soil moisture, just holding a handful of soil in the hand, you can feel the porosity and how rich in nutrients the soil is. Plants need such lands, and tree dehydration or drying phenomenon never happen.
Water is also an important factor. There is no water source that ensures cleanliness and purity like upstream water deep in the forest like HMONG FARM now ”.
HMONG FARM grows only coffee trees. This is also an advantage as the coffee trees here are less susceptible to infection or cross-infection from other agricultural crops. Thanks to that, during 6 years of taking care of the tree, there is no need for HMONG FARM’s farmers to use chemical drugs to cure the plants, and the trees are still growing healthily.
TURNING CRUDENESS
INTO STRENGTHS
Dak G’Long (Dak Nong, Central Highlands) is home to many ethnic people, including the HMONG. Most of their lives are difficult and they have rudimentary agricultural techniques. However, it is the rudimentary agricultural technique (there is no concept of “using pesticides” and “chemical fertilizers” here) that is convenient for HMONG FARM to develop a clean agricultural economy in the direction of clean and organic.
At HMONG FARM, the HMONG people cut the grass of more than 20 hectares by themselves, they are also the ones who fertilize the plants organically and regularly do the watering, ensuring the best and cleanest growth for the coffee trees.
Although Mỹ Linh knows that, when all stages are done by hand and manually, the investment is very high (rental costs, fertilizer costs), the organic coffee tree will produce less than using chemical fertilizers … Mỹ Linh still accepted because she wanted to preserve the primitive farming method of the ethnic people, and at the same time, develop a sustainable direction for her own in the field of clean coffee.
Every stage of cutting grass, fertilizing, and taking care of coffee trees at HMONG FARM, HMONG ethnic people, are paid worthy wages. They have more income to cover their lives, send their children to school.
The greatest ambition of HMONG FARM in the future is to bring more clean products to consumers to have income and improve the lives of ethnic minorities in particular, and Vietnamese people in general. Building bridges – Building schools, is also the goal of HMONG FARM in our journey to help people eliminate hunger and reduce poverty by 2025.
