From just 16 certified products in its inaugural year to 158 by early 2025, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme in Hoa Binh province has followed a steady and strategic path. But beyond the numbers, it has reawakened local heritage, turning oranges, bamboo shoots, brocade, and herbal remedies into branded, market-ready goods - and, more profoundly, transformed how local communities value and present their own cultural identity.
Vietnam Medicinal Materials Cooperative (Residential Zone 6, Quynh Lam ward, Hoa Binh city) owns a number of products that have achieved 3-star OCOP and is continuing to develop new lines in the direction of standardisation and clear traceability.
From local produce to national brands
Once limited to district markets, Cao Phong oranges now feature QR-coded packaging and are sold in supermarkets and online marketplaces, even prepared for export. This success, led by cooperatives such as 3T Agricultural Cooperative of Cao Phong, has elevated the fruit - Hoa Binh’s first product with geographical indication - into a recognised national brand.
OCOP certification has raised the product’s value by 20–30% and helped reposition the Cao Phong orange in the domestic market, said Vu Thi Le Thuy, Director of the cooperative.
In another part of the province, the Tuyet Nhi Cooperative in Lien Son commune (Luong Son district) once cooked its herbal "ca gai leo” (solanum procumbens) extract over open fires for local customers. Thanks to OCOP support, the product now meets international HACCP standards, has professionally designed packaging, and boasts 4-star certification. More importantly, the business has created a new supply chain - encouraging farmers in nearby communes to cultivate the herb, boosting incomes and spreading OCOP’s model of value-added agriculture.
Perhaps most impressively, Hoa Binh’s first 5-star OCOP products came not from high-end goods, but from humble bamboo shoots. Dried and pickled varieties produced by Kim Boi joint Stock Company in Ba Hang Doi township of Lac Thuy district received national OCOP certification in January 2025. What was once a simple local dish is now a product processed, packaged and exported internationally.
Breathing new life into traditional crafts
In Lac and Pom Coong villages of Mai Chau district, brocade textiles, once woven for bridal dowries, now appear in OCOP showcases, complete with branding and QR codes. This reflects a broader shift - OCOP isn’t just about agriculture, but also about preserving cultural identity through market integration.
With 74% of the province's population belonging to ethnic minority groups, including the Muong, Thai, and Dao, Hoa Binh is rich in cultural tradition. In areas like Mai Chau, Tan Lac, and Da Bac, OCOP has helped artisans professionalise their craft, offering training in product design, branding and tourism integration. From scarves and handbags to pillow covers and souvenirs, brocade items now feature at major cultural fairs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Many international tourists take these home as keepsakes, allowing a piece of Hoa Binh's culture to travel with them.
In Hop Tien commune of Kim Boi district, forest honey produced by the Green Life Cooperative reflects another OCOP success story. The product, certified at a 4-star level, comes from a 5,000-hectare protected forest and is harvested in a way that supports both biodiversity and local livelihoods. Led by a team of young locals, the cooperative links its honey with eco-tourism offerings at nearby Kim Boi hot springs, helping to turn a simple product into a local signature.
Brocade from Mai Chau and honey from Hop Tien show that OCOP is more than an economic scheme - it’s also a cultural bridge. In Hoa Binh, each certified product speaks not only to quality and origin, but also to the land, its people, and their stories.
The programme has made a measurable impact on the local economy, improving incomes and reducing the poverty rate to 6.9% by the end of 2024. Nguyen Huy Nhuan, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, confirmed that Hoa Binh now aims to standardise an additional 160 products and launch at least 100 new OCOP businesses by 2030.
Every OCOP label - on a jar of herbal extract, a bamboo shoot package, or a brocade pouch - serves both as a quality mark and a proud declaration: "We are from Hoa Binh.” A land of mountains, resilience, and deep creativity, the province’s OCOP journey is far from over - driven by the belief that tradition thrives best when nurtured, renewed, and retold through the products of its people.
Over the past three years, the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh has begun redefining its position on Vietnam’s service landscape with a series of distintive commercial models, from highland night markets, pedestrian-friendly streets, to logistics centres tied to local agricultural products.
Hoa Binh city has marked a significant step in sustainable forest management as nearly 1,450 hectares of its plantation forests have been granted Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, an international standard required to access major wood markets such as the EU, the US, and Japan.
Construction on the Xuan Thien Hoa Binh lime and light powder factory in Yen Bong commune, Lac Thuy district - a key project of Hoa Binh province - started on April 24.
Hoa Binh city is transitioning to modern and sustainable agriculture by leveraging its natural advantages to efficiently develop crop cultivation and animal husbandry. The city is applying scientific and technical advancements to farming, processing, and distribution while expanding export markets, significantly increasing production value and incomes for farmers.
Hoa Binh province’s economy posted an impressive Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth rate of 12.67% in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 12.76% year-on-year increase, the highest rate recorded since the beginning of the current tenure, according to the provincial Statistics Office. This robust growth reflects years of strategic groundwork and sets a strong foundation for the province’s annual growth target of over 10%.
With a focus on cash crop farming with science - technology application and brand building, Lac Thuy district is gradually increasing production value, improving people's life quality, and laying the foundation for sustainable socio-economic development.
