Creating happiness from the farm

Not only did he ignite the dream of sustainable agriculture , he also created a place for children in his hometown to learn English, practice life skills and connect with international friends. It all started from a small fire called "responsibility for the homeland"...

Kiến tạo hạnh phúc từ nông trại- Ảnh 1. — Tran Thanh Ha with the farm in its early days

Back home, sowing dreams

The Hygge Farm - a small farm located about 30 km from the center of Hoi An is a favorite destination of many international volunteers and young families who love to experience. The founder of The Hygge Farm is Tran Thanh Ha, born in 1993, a young man who studied high-tech agriculture in Israel, studied experiential education in Singapore and worked on organic farms in Denmark.

Everyone thought that after those long trips, Ha would choose to stay abroad, where the conditions were better and the income was more stable. But no, Ha chose to return home.

Ha confided: "I started out as a poor student in a village school. When I went abroad to study, I realized that my lack of foreign language skills was a huge barrier, preventing me from absorbing all the good things from developed agricultural countries." Ha continued, her eyes quiet but bright: "It was that difficulty that urged me to create a place for children in my hometown to have an environment to practice and practice English in the most effective way."

From a family cow farm, in October 2021, Ha started building The Hygge Farm with 3 main missions: educating children about traditional agriculture, learning life skills and practicing English with native speakers; developing agricultural tourism ; connecting international cultural exchanges.

Kiến tạo hạnh phúc từ nông trại- Ảnh 2. — The Hygge Farm educates children about traditional farming, teaches life skills and practices English with native speakers

Through the storm, keep the faith

No start is easy, especially when you choose to start in a place where most young people have left. "When I returned, the land was barren, the young people had gone to the city, and the acacia forests were eroding every inch of my hometown... People didn't believe it. They were used to traditional ways of doing business, so when they saw me - a young boy from somewhere - struggling to grow clean vegetables, build thatched houses, entertain Westerners... they laughed. Some people even said, it would probably last a few days," Ha said.

Then Typhoon Noru hit in 2022. Devastation. Everything I had built was almost gone overnight. But Ha did not give up. "If I had not been determined enough, I would have returned to the city a long time ago. I believe that if I do things properly and persevere, the stones will eventually bloom," Ha said.

The first flowers are the children of the poor countryside. Every afternoon, the children chattered to the farm, learning how to sow seeds, pick up trash, and learn English with foreign volunteers. The once shy children now confidently ask questions and start conversations. No one thought that in the middle of the countryside there would be a place that helps children practice English so naturally.

And that belief gradually spread. Parents began to trust and send their children. People began to visit. Small tours "a day as a farmer" were gradually accepted. International volunteers returned in greater numbers, bringing with them connections and positive influences.

Kiến tạo hạnh phúc từ nông trại- Ảnh 3. — "Learning in the Forest" encourages hands-on exploration, curiosity and connection with nature from an early age

Sow letters, cultivate people

Ha recalls that when she was a student in Hue, she created a small website to connect international volunteers and Vietnamese students. That idea is now being applied back home, in a concrete and meaningful way.

The Hygge Farm organizes free English classes for children in difficult circumstances. Every week, volunteers from many countries such as France, the Netherlands, the US... come to the farm, stay with Ha and help teach. The classes are not blackboards or chalk, but instead are storytelling sessions, baking together, playing games, sowing seeds, picking vegetables..., all taking place in English.

The idea of "Classroom without walls" was nurtured by Ha since her days in Denmark and was re-implemented in a very unique style in Vietnam. Instead of a traditional classroom, children will study among trees, streams and the vast sky, using the forest as a laboratory, playground and source of inspiration.

Ha confided: "I want children to learn in a happy and comfortable atmosphere, and see English as a tool to expand the world."

Not only children, but also students majoring in English, agriculture or tourism are welcomed by Ha to experience, intern and learn. For Ha, learning must go hand in hand with practice and education should start from the smallest things.

Children learn to respect nature through simple actions such as not picking flowers, breaking branches indiscriminately, not throwing trash into streams...

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR

1 model - 3 values

Unlike conventional commercial farmstay models, The Hygge Farm chooses a slow but sustainable path. Every corner of the farm is designed to serve 3 clear missions:

Educational Farm: Where children learn about the environment, life skills and English through practical experiences.
Agricultural tourism: With half-day, one-day or two-day tours for families, students, and foreigners to experience farming and traditional food preparation.
Cultural exchange: International volunteers live and work on the farm, staying with local people, creating a true cultural exchange environment.

"Here, foreigners learn how to make rice paper and banh thuan, while children in my hometown learn to say 'thank you' with a smile. Learning sometimes just needs to be like that, simple and sincere," Ha said with a smile.

From the experiences at The Hygge Farm, Ha added environmental protection messages: limiting plastic waste, reusing materials, sorting waste, saving water, and planting native trees. He believes that if children love nature from an early age, they will become environmentally friendly adults in the future.

Kiến tạo hạnh phúc từ nông trại- Ảnh 8. — Green shoots are sprouting, not only in the soil but also in the hearts of children, mothers in the countryside and even guests from afar.

Happiness is the journey back

Perhaps what makes The Hygge Farm special is not just the creative model, but the heart of the founder. In the name "Hygge" - a Danish word meaning "cozy, peaceful", is Ha's wish for a place where everyone feels like they belong.

"I don't dream of changing the whole world. I just want to change a small corner of my hometown, where poor children can study, adults can make a living and nature is preserved. If every young person returns, bringing a good seed, I believe the village will bloom again," Ha said.

Happiness, sometimes, does not lie in great things but begins with courageous decisions. Like Ha, she chose to return to cultivate the future right on the land of her birth.