LÀO CAI -- In Lào Cai Province, ethnic communities are transforming simple home-grown medicinal plants into high-value products by combining rich indigenous knowledge with modern business practices, creating livelihoods and boosting the local economy.
In Tả Phìn Commune, Tẩn Tả Mẩy and 120 Dao đỏ ethnic women joined forces in 2015 to establish the Dao đỏ Community Cooperative.
Their aim was not only to preserve and develop traditional herbal bath remedies but also to provide local livelihoods for women in the commune.
Unlike many other ethnic groups who mainly use herbal medicine in decoctions, poultices or topical treatments, the Dao đỏ women have long mastered the art of combining more than 200 species of leaves, stems and bark to create herbal bath mixtures with distinctive healing properties.
"Each cauldron of herbal bath water is the result of meticulous labour and the accumulated wisdom of generations," Mẩy said.
The blend of ingredients produces remedies known for strengthening joints, aiding digestion, relieving fatigue and restoring overall wellbeing.
The cooperative's first product under the Mẩy Đia brand was a concentrated herbal bath extract, cooked daily from fresh leaves and tree bark collected by members. The extracts are bottled and labelled professionally.
Ten years on, the cooperative operates 30 herbal bath tubs and more than 80 homestay rooms within members' households. On average, the cooperative receives 30-50 visitors a day, according to Mẩy.
From a single product, the cooperative has expanded its catalogue to include postnatal herbal baths, children's baths, foot-soak sachets, liquid foot-soak solutions, herbal shampoos and soaps, and a range of massage products such as essential oils, herbal balms and liniments.
The cooperative earns around VNĐ4 billion (US$151,800) a year, with each member now receiving a monthly income of VNĐ5-6 million ($189-227).
Elsewhere in the province, An Văn Tuấn grew up in a family of respected traditional healers. As a child, he often accompanied his grandfather into the forest to collect medicinal plants, absorbing ancestral recipes along the way.
Tuấn realised that Chiềng Ken Commune's climate and soil are ideal for medicinal plants, which, when properly processed, can provide farmers with stable jobs and secure incomes.
In 2019, he and six young people from Ken 1 Hamlet formed the Thế Tuấn Cooperative, specialising in medicinal-plant start-ups. Their first product was a distilled essential oil made from Đại Bi (Blumea balsamifera) leaves, which quickly gained market attention for its unique qualities.
The oil became the cooperative's flagship product and in 2021 received a provincial three-star certification under the One Commune-One Product programme.
Seeing the potential of green Japanese perilla as a high-value crop, Tuấn encouraged local households, particularly young farmers, to convert low-yield cropland to perilla cultivation. The cooperative guarantees stable purchase prices for all harvests.
The cooperative now earns around VNĐ1.5 billion ($56,900) annually with a profit margin of 30 per cent. It employs about ten regular workers and provides seasonal income opportunities for many more through harvesting raw materials. A single seasonal picker can gather up to 400 kg a day, earning VNĐ500,000-600,000 ($19-23).
Nguyễn Văn Thành's family in Ken 3 Hamlet now cultivates 5,000 sq.m of green perilla in partnership with the cooperative.
"The crop requires minimal fertiliser and no pesticides. Working with Tuấn has given us stable employment and a monthly income of VNĐ6-8 million ($227-303)," he said.
Preserving medicinal gene sources
The expansion of medicinal-plant cultivation not only lifts people out of poverty and improves livelihoods but also plays a crucial role in biodiversity conservation.
Instead of indiscriminate harvesting, local communities are now working with authorities and businesses to cultivate medicinal plants sustainably while protecting precious genetic resources.
In a sprawling medicinal-plant garden tucked between mountain ranges, Tẩn Mẩy Líu, manager of the Dao đỏ Community Cooperative, described how villagers used to forage for herbs in the forest, earning little while depleting natural stocks.
"Then, we think we needed a change of mindset for sustainable development," she said.
Cooperative members now grow herbs in their home gardens, taking turns to supply about 200kg of fresh leaves and 200kg of dried leaves each day.
The cooperative purchases raw materials from 224 affiliated households, ensuring stable incomes.
However, with visitor numbers rising, supply still struggles to keep pace with demand, prompting efforts to expand cultivation areas.
"Growing medicinal plants helps re-green barren hillsides, protect the environment, create jobs and increase household incomes, while meeting raw-material demand for cooperative production and export partnerships," Mẩy said.
To meet quality requirements, the cooperative has adopted GACP-WHO (Good Agricultural and Collection Practices - World Health Organisation) standards for good agricultural and collection practices.
A local company, Traphaco Sa Pa, has supported the community with seedlings and capital, and signed contracts to purchase artichoke leaves at stable prices, addressing farmers' biggest concern - market access.
From the harvested leaves, the company has successfully developed soft artichoke extract and mist-spray artichoke tea, both certified as national five-star One Commune One Products (OCOP).
Thanks to efforts by the company and local authorities, large areas in Sa Pa Ward and neighbouring communes have been zoned for high-yield artichoke cultivation under GACP-WHO standards.
Annual production has risen from 100 tonnes to more than 2,500 tonnes of fresh leaves, while growing areas have expanded from three hectares to nearly 100 hectares, providing sustainable livelihoods for thousands of households.
Đỗ Tiến Sỹ, director of the company, said the move not only boosted local employment and income but also helped spread awareness of the need to conserve other valuable medicinal species and strengthen the province's herbal-product identity.
The northern mountainous province of Lào Cai is home to more than 850 medicinal plant species, including 70 rare varieties such as Thất diệp nhất chi hoa (Paris polyphylla), Hoàng liên gai (Berberis wallichiana DC) and Tam thất hoang (Panax bipinnatifidus Araliaceace).
With the right strategy, strong business participation and the determination of local people, the province is steadily building a sustainable medicinal-plant value chain.
The province aims to become the green herbal hub of the northern midlands and mountains, contributing to the implementation of Việt Nam's National Medicinal-Plant Development Strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045. -- VNS