A movement to promote the proactive engagement of women in the study, creative labour and building prosperous and happy families is spreading more and more widely in the local women’s unions in Hoa Binh, attracting a large number of women. Bui Thi Xiem, Director of Thien Loi An medicinal herbs cooperative in Kim Boi commune, Kim Boi district, emerges as one of typical examples in implementing the movement.
Bui Thi Xiem (R), Director of the Thien Loi An medicinal herbs cooperative in Kim Boi commune, Kim Boi district, is a typical example in a movement to promote women’s startups and creative labour.
Xiem decided to establish the cooperative in 2020 to connect production and bring medicinal herbs to the market nationwide. Since its establishment, the cooperative averagely supplies nearly 10,000 medicinal herbs of all kinds to the market a year.
She said her family has been practicing traditional herbal medicine for a long time, regularly purchasing medicinal herbs from local people, so she understands the characteristics of herbal medicines. The formation of the cooperative is expected to create stable jobs for rural labourers and contribute to conserving rare medicinal plants.
So far, the cooperative has offered many products in the market, including Homalomena aromatica jelly, Celastrus approximatus Craib jelly, Solanum procumbens jelly, and Panax Notoginseng jelly. To achieve success, Xiem has gone through many difficulties and challenges, requiring her to be determined, learn, and gain experience to create a unique feature for her products.
The cooperative has cooperated with 16 households to grow medicinal plants with a total area of 5 ha, serving processing and production activities. Many households in Kim Boi commune have had additional income from growing medicinal plants.
The cooperative's annual revenue reaches over 500 million VND (nearly 19,700 USD), creating regular jobs for six workers with a monthly income of 5 - 6 million VND each; and over 40 part-time labourers.
Chairwoman of the women's union of Kim Boi commune Bui Thi Trang said Xiem is an active member in the women's movement, and an exemplary figure in exploring, starting a business, and effectively developing household economics in the locality.
With her idea to process medicinal herbs has initially produced positive results, utilising the available medicinal resources of the locality, while preserving traditional remedies, and creating stable income for her family.
Xiem aims to develop Homalomena aromatica cream product into an OCOP (One Commune, One Product) item in 2024. She also plans to enhance the promotion and introduction of her products through e-commerce channels to access more consumers.
A project to build the Cuoi Ha ecological urban and entertainment area and cable car system in Kim Boi and Cuoi Ha communes is one of the two major projects of Hoa Binh in Kim Boi district. Currently, the local administration is working to speed up ground clearance for the project and the construction of resettlement areas for affected people, thus supporting the investor in implementing the project.
The Northern Region Industry and Trade Fair- Hoa Binh 2024 took place from October 14-20, featuring over 200 businesses with 250 booths from 30 northern provinces and several central and southern localities.
Over the past years, businesses in Hoa Binh province have maintained and expanded operations, significantly contributing to local development.
The Standing Board of the Party Committee of Provincial Agencies of Hoa Binh on October 11 held a get-together with enterprises under the Party Organisation of Provincial Agencies, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day (October 13, 2004-2024).
Recently, along with efforts to enhance product quality, relevant sectors, and stakeholders involved in the One Commune One Product (OCOP) (OCOP) programme have focused on developing and refining product designs and packaging, thus attracting customer interest and increasing the value of OCOP items in Hoa Binh province.
The Hoa Binh-Moc Chau expressway’s section crossing Hoa Binh is 34km in length and has total investment of over 9.99 trillion VND (402.09 million USD). The project, scheduled to become operational in 2028, is expected to open new development opportunities and space for the province.
