The turning point
Sharing with PV of Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Bui Van Hai (born in 1981, residing in Phong Luong village, Luu Ve commune, Thanh Hoa province) said that the opportunity to raise snails was very coincidental and somewhat surprising. In 2003, after graduating from the Faculty of Journalism, Thanh Hoa Radio and Television College, he worked at Thuong Xuan District Radio Station (old) and worked as a collaborator for a number of press agencies.
After nearly 4 years of working in journalism, although still passionate, due to difficult economic conditions and income not enough to cover expenses and living expenses, he decided to "cast a pen" and turn around to go to the South to find opportunities to start a business in the promised land.
Up to now, after nearly 20 years away from journalism, I still miss many memories. At that time, the reason I had to give up my passion was just because of a small income, while the economic burden of the family was too great. The day I made the decision, I had to hesitate and think a lot" - Mr. Hai recalled.
According to Mr. Hai, after settling down in the South, he and his younger brother from the same hometown went to work as bodyguards. After a while, the two traveled to Hanoi. Here, the two decided to establish a bodyguard company, Mr. Hai took on the position of Deputy Director of the company. At first, the newly established company was still confused, but later stabilized and developed.
Thinking that the company was developing, Mr. Hai would stick with the bodyguard job for a long time. However, career change once again came to him. Once when returning to the countryside, seeing vast fields, people did not far effectively, and many places were even abandoned. Realizing that his hometown was wasting agricultural land, he thought about what to do so that the fields that were left behind could not be revived.
After many nights of worrying and thinking, he decided to leave the position of Deputy Director of the bodyguard company, return to his hometown to contract more than 2 hectares of poor rice fields and then experiment with growing organic squid, combined with fish ponds. In the early days, when he started growing squid and raising fish, his job was quite favorable, however, Mr. Hai realized that although the crop yield was good, the economic efficiency was not high. This once again made him struggle to find a new direction.
Earning billions from stuffed snails
Thinking back, I was a bit lucky in terms of ideas. In 2014, one time I happened to go eat at a restaurant and saw a stuffed snail that was loved by many people and had a high price. Meanwhile, natural stuffed snails are increasingly scarce, if they can be raised, this will be a very popular item. After that, I decided to renovate and dig ponds to raise snails" - Mr. Hai shared.
According to Mr. Hai, after having a pond, he bought filling from people caught naturally for experimental farming. However, when the snails were ready for harvest, they died en masse. Not only failed once but raised many times, even suffered heavy losses. Determined not to be discouraged, he traveled to all the snail farms in and outside the province to learn more experience and farming techniques.
In 2015, when he had equipped himself with knowledge and experience, Mr. Hai decided to make a "big ass", renovating the pond and raising snails in large quantities. After realizing that the snails grew and developed well through the breeding generations, Mr. Hai and his younger brother established a company specializing in providing meat snails and seeds. In the first time of farming, the company earned more than 100 million VND from stuffed snails.
According to Mr. Hai, the stuffed snails can be harvested after being raised for about 3 months. The snail harvest season starts from the 6th of the 12th lunar month, the snail harvest season starts from the 4th of the 10th lunar month. Currently, he is collaborating with dozens of local households, providing breeds and purchasing meat snails after people harvest. After harvesting snails are supplied to the market in many provinces and cities in the North and Central regions.
Mr. Hai said that his stuffed snail model peaked in 2017. To date, he owns a snail farm of more than 2.4 hectares. Each year, the farm supplies more than 10 tons of meat snails, priced at 80,000-120,000 VND/kg and 1-2 million snails, with prices starting from 300-500 VND/ snail. After deducting costs, the profit of the snail farm fluctuates at 1-2 billion VND/year. In addition, Mr. Hai's company also creates jobs for many local workers, with a salary of 7-9 million VND/month.
According to Mr. Hai, although stuffed snails do not require much care and food, they have the characteristic of being environmentally friendly with clean water. Farmers must grasp this property and regularly create a clean environment for snails to grow.
According to many people in Phong Luong village, thanks to Mr. Hai's potholed snail farming model, many households have followed and brought stable economic efficiency. Previously, my family raised pigs, after linking the household snail farming with Uncle Hai's business, the economy was more stable. Up to now, we have been connected for nearly ten years, all work is quite favorable, the snails are not worried about output, so we are very assured" - Mr. Hoang Van Hung (a snail farming household in Luu Ve commune) shared.
According to the representative of Luu Ve commune's leadership, Mr. Hai's stuffed snail farm is one of the typical models in local economic development. Currently, Mr. Hai has cooperated with dozens of households in providing breeding animals and ensuring output, thanks to which many families have a stable and better source of income.
