Tinh Sang Duong is not just the name of a herbal farming cooperative in western Nghe An, but also a philosophical message: “when the mind is calm, the wisdom comes”, a belief shared by the three men who united around a dream of medicinal herbs.

Turning dream into reality

At the foot of Len Xat mountain in Hop Thanh village (Tam Hop commune, Nghe An), a specialized herbal farming area has taken shape. Plots growing herbs are interwoven, layered along the contour lines of the hillside.

The director of Tinh Sang Duong Medicinal Herb Cooperative, La Van Duy, said the cooperative has developed over 10 hectares of medicinal herb cultivation and linked with farmers for another 10 hectares, totaling over 20 hectares with 12 different types. 

The cooperative applies a closed-loop production process, adhering to strict standards from land preparation, planting, care and harvesting to ectotprocessing.

In reality, herbal farming is no longer new, and the model of value chain linkage is also quite common. But what makes Tinh Sang Duong stand out is that three brothers from a Thai family shared the same vision and determination to build the cooperative.

The cooperative also creates sustainable income for participating locals. More importantly, its raw material cultivation area meets GACP-WHO standards, a high standard achieved by only two cooperatives nationwide.

The medicinal herb dream was raised by the youngest man in the family, La Van Khoi. Graduating from Vietnam Academy of Traditional Medicine, Khoi returned to work at Nghe An Northwest General Hospital as head of Traditional Medicine Department. 

With his knowledge of medicinal herbs and Eastern medicine, he always pondered developing herbal products to help locals grow economically, contributing to lifting their homeland out of poverty.

Supported by his two elder brothers, La Van Duy and La Van Cuong, in April 2022, Tinh Sang Duong Medicinal Herb Cooperative was established on the land area of 5 hectares in Hop Thanh village, focusing on planting and processing medicinal herbs.

The three brothers faced early challenges, from mobilizing locals to join the cooperative to organizing production, processing under strict standards and promoting the brand to the market.

Among numerous challenges, the most favorable factor deciding the cooperative’s success was enthusiastic support from family and local authorities for Duy, Cuong, and Khoi.

To date, Tinh Sang Duong has built a system including the 20-hectare medicinal herb cooperative, two traditional medicine clinics managed by doctor La Van Khoi, two stores selling over 30 medicinal products, and tens of households in sustainable linkage.

To ensure product quality, the cooperative is equipped with heat dryers, cold dryers, extract cookers, grinders, sterilizers, film presses and capping machines, all integrated into the production process.

Tinh Sang Duong products have five product lines achieving 3-star OCOP rating, gradually reaching provinces nationwide and present in 10 countries.

Linking up for development

Besides medicinal herbs grown under forest canopy shade, the cooperative also aims for natural beekeeping to serve product processing.

Notably, ten linked beekeeping households earn up to hundreds of millions VND yearly. For example, Tan’s household with 50 beehives earns VND70 million; Luan’s with 30 beehives earns VND40 million; Hong’s with 25 beehives also earns VND40 million.

Ten linked medicinal herb households also have significant income, like Dinh Trong Son’s household with 2,000 sqm Solanum procumbens earning VND50 million yearly; Nguyen Cong Giap’s 3,000 sqm Hedyotis diffusa earning VND45 million; and Nguyen Thi Trang’s 3,000 sqm celery earning VND50 million.

Dam Van Suong, a farmer planting GACP-WHO-standard herbs in Trong Canh village, noted: “There’s ample land and labor, but locals long planted acacia with low prices. Joining medicinal herb planting, I see more prospects.”

For cooperative members, they have stable jobs and worthy income. Lang Thi Hoa, a member, said: “I’ve worked here since the cooperative started, mainly cooking extracts, packing tea bags. Monthly, I earn VND7-8 million, much better than field farming.”

Thanh Hai