Knowing about Vetiver grass at a conference, Mr. Thao bought seeds and brought them back to his hometown to plant. Unexpectedly, this strange grass helped him build a business, earning tens of millions of dong every month.
About Khanh Hong commune, Yen Khanh district (Ninh Binh) asked 9X farmer Do Van Thao (SN 1991) everyone knew. People often call him by the affectionate name Thao grass “strange”. For the past 5 years, he has been attached to the grass-growing profession, not only enriching himself but also helping local people have jobs and income.
Mr. Thao said that in 2017, he attended a conference on fighting climate change and reducing disaster risks. Here, he learned that Vetiver grass plays an important role in the environment, helping to prevent soil erosion, prevent landslides, reduce natural disasters, and protect infrastructure.
And yet, this very strange grass has appeared in Vietnam since 1999, but this little-known is not only valuable for the environment but also has many other effects because the essential oil is very rare.
Thinking of the fact that his hometown grass grows better all year round than other crops, his parent’s and relatives’ farmers can’t eat enough for a day or two with all kinds of crops, so Mr. Thao researched and decided to buy the same kind. This strange grass was brought back to his hometown to plant, in the hope of changing his life.
“When I brought grass to plant, everyone laughed non-stop. Everyone said there was no grass in the countryside, but now they bring this strange plant back. Will it make a good rice porridge and then this strange grass invades the field again? At that time, the whole commune suffered,” Thao recalled.
At that time, Vetiver was a strange name to the people of Khanh Hong commune, Yen Khanh district, and Ninh Binh province. No one in the locality has grown this type of grass. Therefore, no one believes that this strange plant will bring high economic value. As for Mr. Thao, he quietly followed his passion.
“At first, I was also vague about this plant, so I only dared to plant 3 Sao(3000 m2) on my family’s land for testing. At that time, I had no experience, the grass died a lot, and I died until I grew up there. Sometimes I was shy. well, but because the words came out, I was determined to do it” – Mr. Thao confided.
Always with his parents, wife and children by his side to encourage him, after a while, Mr. Thao also tamed and successfully planted a strange grass on his own land. Until now, Mr. Thao has succeeded beyond expectations thanks to this strange grass.
“Vetiver grass from planting to harvesting roots is about a year. If you split the semi-seedling, it only takes 7 months. Growing this grass is like growing rice, but the yield and income is 2-3 times higher than growing rice.” – Mr. Thao confirmed.
The farmer 9X calculated mentally, if he planted a pole of Vetiver grass for rooting, after a year he could collect about 80kg of dried roots, the selling price is 200,000 VND/kg. Each pole minus all expenses, the income was tens of millions of dong. Not to mention, if selling grass seeds, the income is also very high.
Currently, Mr. Thao is planting about 2.5 hectares of Vetiver grass locally. Which, 1.5 ha of which he contracted to people in the commune to do, the rest was about 1 ha of family production.
The Vetiver grass variety that is being planted and cared for by Mr. Thao is provided by Mr. Thao for anti-erosion projects, helping to protect lakes, dams, canals, roads, riverbanks, and hydropower reservoirs from being filled up… Every year, families His family sold more than 1.5 million Vetiver plants.
In order to increase his income, Mr. Thao has researched and produced his own exclusive incense from this strange grass. Up to now, after 4 years, his family’s flamingo fragrance has a brand name and is sold all over the country.
The flamingo flavor product that 9X guy in Ninh Binh is producing is clean, does not contain harmful chemicals, and is safe for users, so it is well received and supported by many customers.
Every year, Mr. Thao’s family sells about 20,000 boxes of incense to the market, deducting all expenses and making a profit of about 30 million VND/per month. Currently, his family’s production facility is creating jobs for 5-7 local workers with an income of 150-300 thousand VND (12$)/person/day.
Mr. Thao intends to develop more models from Vetiver plants, using grass leaves as raw materials for handicraft production and expanding the market with incense products to export to foreign countries.
Photo: Internet (vinlove.net)