Bachelor gets rich from vermicelli, creating jobs for many young people in the village

TPO - From the traditional five-color vermicelli making profession of his family and the Tay ethnic group, Mr. Hua Van Huong (born in 1995, Hong Thai commune, Tuyen Quang province) has built his own brand, consuming dozens of tons of vermicelli each year and creating jobs for many local people. "I want to create more jobs for the youth of my hometown, so that you can get rich right on this land," Mr. Huong said.

The five-color vermicelli workshop of Da Vi Cooperative, which is over 500 square meters in Hong Thai commune, is always bustling on summer days. In the yard, batches of vermicelli in various colors of purple, green, yellow, and orange shine under the sunlight. Inside, the sound of pounding the dough and pressing machines resounds firmly; the workers' hands quickly knead the dough and press it into soft, thin vermicelli strands. The ingredients for coloring the vermicelli are completely natural, including purple and red leaves, turmeric, etc., which permeate each strand, creating eye-catching colors and a unique flavor.

Since childhood, Hua Van Huong has been familiar with his family’s traditional profession of making dried vermicelli. While studying at the National Academy of Public Administration, he often brought packages of dried vermicelli as gifts for friends and teachers. “Everyone who ate them praised the vermicelli for its chewy, fragrant texture, and its firmness even after being cooked many times,” he recalls. It was from these compliments that the idea of ​​bringing his hometown’s five-color vermicelli to the wider market began to take shape.

Mr. Hua Van Huong with Da Vi five-color vermicelli product.

After graduating, Huong returned to his hometown, joined the Youth Union and started his own business with traditional vermicelli. Initially, he sold vermicelli in traditional markets in the area. Through the Youth Union, he was able to access an initial loan of 100 million VND, then researched and, together with some local households, established a cooperative with the hope of creating a separate brand for local products.

However, the path to success was not smooth. When he wanted to expand production, he realized that skills alone were not enough. For vermicelli to be sold in supermarkets and stores, it was necessary to have standard packaging, complete labels, and vermicelli that met food hygiene and safety standards. In the early days, due to lack of experience, many shipments were returned by customers because the packaging was not printed properly, and the vermicelli was uneven. "There were times when I thought I had to give up because every time I produced something, it was defective and I couldn't sell it," he said.

In 2019, the family's five-color dried vermicelli product was recognized as a 3-star OCOP, opening a big turning point. The product built a brand that went to many northern provinces and some southern provinces such as Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang... But difficulties arose when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, transportation was delayed, goods were congested, and output was almost paralyzed. "At that time, I was almost bankrupt, I realized that if I only relied on traditional trade and wholesale, it would be very precarious," Huong shared.

Processing Da Vi five-color dry vermicelli.

From failure and difficulties, Huong found a new way, firstly reducing the scale, focusing on customers in neighboring provinces for easy transportation, in parallel with putting the product on social networks and e-commerce platforms. He and the members of the cooperative learned how to design standard packaging, print QR codes to trace the origin, and boldly invested in a hydraulic press instead of doing it manually. Thanks to that, the vermicelli noodles are all beautiful, chewy, meet food hygiene and safety standards, and are qualified to enter the supermarket.

From struggling to find outlets, the product is now available in supermarkets and specialty stores, receiving many orders from Hanoi and neighboring provinces. Each year, the cooperative consumes over 35 tons of vermicelli, with a revenue of over 1 billion VND. The products are priced from 35,000 - 45,000 VND/kg, and are chosen as gifts by many agencies and businesses.

Not only enriching itself, the cooperative also creates stable jobs for 5 main workers and many seasonal workers, with an average income of 5 - 6 million VND/month. Production materials are also organized on a large scale: 60 hectares of VietGAP rice in Hong Thai commune have been contracted, and color-creating leaves (purple leaves, moringa leaves, turmeric...) are grown locally, both safe and proactive in supply.

According to Mr. Huong, although there are many similar products on the market today, Da Vi Cooperative's five-color vermicelli still maintains its position thanks to its traditional flavor, fragrant, chewy vermicelli, and distinct bao thai rice flavor, completely different from similar products.

In his role as Deputy Secretary of the Commune Youth Union, Huong also cherishes the plan to develop more products associated with the experiential tourism model, so that visitors can not only eat noodles but also see with their own eyes the process of making five-color noodles. “I hope to create more jobs for the youth of my hometown, so that you can get rich right on this land,” he said.

Mr. Le Anh Tu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Thai Commune, said: "The revenue of Da Vi Cooperative is not large, but the model has helped to create a unique brand for the locality. Thereby, agricultural products grown by local people have stable output, products are widely promoted, contributing to introducing the cultural identity and cuisine of Hong Thai to many places."

Source: https://tienphong.vn/chang-cu-nhan-lam-giau-tu-soi-bun-tao-viec-lam-cho-nhieu-thanh-nien-trong-lang-post1769841.tpo