Nguyen Thi Dim's journey not only brings a "new breeze" to elevate the value of local bamboo shoots, but is also a beautiful symphony between the aspiration of youth to contribute, efforts to preserve forests and the desire to create a sustainable livelihood for people in mountainous areas.
Inquiries and difficulties at the beginning
Nguyen Thi Dim's journey of turning to rise up originated from a love and deep attachment to her roots. From childhood, her life has been imprinted with the shadow of vast bamboo forests. Recalling those days, Dim recounted: "When it was not yet dawn, I followed my parents and relatives carrying luggage, bringing a handful of rice, walking dozens of kilometers across forests, wading streams, climbing slopes just to exchange for a few dozen kilograms of bamboo shoots.
However, what makes Dim most lingering is not the hardship of labor but the sad eyes of the people when carrying heavy baskets of bamboo shoots to their destination and still having to wait wearily for traders. Fresh bamboo shoots are a gift from the forest but cannot be kept for long, when quoted prices are too low, farmers also have to grit their teeth and sell them at a cheap price of only a few thousand VND per kilogram, not enough to compensate for sweat and effort.
Some years when bamboo shoots are abundant, the price drops, and some years when the price is good, the crop fails. Heartbroken by that scene, Dim always asks herself: "Why does my homeland have such a precious specialty but the people who make it are still poor? ".
That concern has turned into action. Dim decided to return, giving up other opportunities to stick with the bamboo shoots of her homeland. Confiding about the reason for the change of direction, Dim said: "I want bamboo shoots to no longer just be a seasonal agricultural product, but to become a branded product with higher value so that people can enjoy worthy achievements from their own efforts".
Despite carrying great ambitions, the reality of the early days of starting was countless harsh tests. "The biggest difficulty was that we almost started from scratch. We didn't have much capital, no machinery, no experience in processing or building a brand," Dim recalled. The money saved kept running out with the batches of bamboo shoots that had to be thrown away because they were moldy, discolored, and not up to standard. There were days when it was raining and stormy, the whole family had to rush around the yard to collect each tray of unfinished bamboo shoots. The market was not yet available, plus the trust of customers had not yet taken shape, she had to take each package of bamboo shoots to knock on the door to introduce, persistently persuading each person to find outlets.
Sweet fruit and longing to reach further
Overcoming the storms of the startup days, Nguyen Thi Dim's Cooperative model has stood firm and created a close economic link with local farmers. To change the pure agricultural thinking, Dim always tells people that if we only sell fresh bamboo shoots, we will forever depend on traders. To change, we must link with each other. Thanks to that, the Cooperative is committed to purchasing at a stable price, guiding people to harvest correct techniques, resolutely not cutting down young bamboo shoots so that the forest continues to regenerate, and at the same time building clean raw material areas.
The results measured after those efforts are not only in the revenue figures. For Dim, the greatest happiness is the smile that sheds the burden of worries of the people. She emotionally recounted the moment a farmer held her hand tightly and smiled: "The first time going to get bamboo shoots without having to worry about how much traders will pay today". Along with that, customer feedback messages when feeling the natural sweetness of the mountains and forests, understanding the sweat of the highland people after each package of bamboo shoots are a priceless source of motivation.
Not complacent with what she has, Nguyen Thi Dim is still nurturing further steps on the Vietnamese agricultural map. In the coming time, the Cooperative will focus on investing in clean processing technology, launching high-value product lines to the market such as dried bamboo shoots, shredded bamboo shoots, and instant bamboo shoots. In particular, the project will strongly apply digital technology to complete traceability, promote the development of OCOP products and expand distribution channels on e-commerce platforms.
Nguyen Thi Dim's biggest dream is that when mentioning bamboo shoots, consumers will immediately remember the land of Lam Thuong and the image of hardworking farmers who cherish and create a decent product. The value of bamboo shoots is now not only encapsulated in meals but has truly become a lifebuoy to help people live proudly by their profession, protect the great forest and preserve a sustainable livelihood for posterity.
For me, starting a business from bamboo shoots is not only about doing business, but also a way to repay my homeland and the farmers who have been attached to bamboo forests for life.
