Developing organic farming in Cao Bang Provinces Phja Den Mountain

Kolia Co., Ltd., has researched and grown organically many agricultural crops, including tea, on the top of Phja Den Mountain in Thanh Cong Commune, Nguyen Binh District, Cao Bang Province for years.

Tea pickers of Kolia Co., Ltd. Photo: Cong Hai.

Kolia Co., Ltd., which was officially established in 2011, has researched and grown organically many agricultural crops, including tea, on the top of Phja Den Mountain in Thanh Cong Commune, Nguyen Binh District, Cao Bang Province for years.

The varieties of green tea and oolong tea, which are grown on hilly soil, have developed well after 2 years of piloting to grow.

The company went to Phu Tho Province to carry the tea seedlings to plant on an area of nearly 20 hectares in Cao Bang Province.

In 2015, the company invited domestic experts from Viet Nam Tea Research Centre and foreign experts from Taiwan, China to research and transfer technologies to make high-class teas.

When the tea trees are ready to be harvested, Hoang Manh Ngoc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company travelled to neighbouring provinces and Taiwan to learn experiences and buy necessary equipment.

The system of factories and of tea-processing production lines have been fully invested and highly automated so far.

Therefore, the tea production has increased steadily year after year with many varieties of organic tea such as: traditional green tea, fragrant green tea, oolong-flavored green tea, Dong Phuong My Nhan, red tea, white tea, Mao Tiem tea, Long Tinh tea and Det tea.

The products are mainly exported to Taiwan, China with the average price from a few hundred thousand to several millions of dong per kg.

The company has also invested in developing more high-quality tea material areas in the direction of linking with farmers in the region, providing technical training, seeds and fertilisers to exploit the available land.

In 2017, the company was allowed by the Ministry of Science and Technology to implement the project "Building a model of vegetable and flower production to increase income for people living surrounding Phja Den Mountain.

The membrane houses, drip and sprinkler irrigation systems have been invested to grow a number of safe and high-quality vegetables and flowers following to VietGAP standards such as cabbage, peas, cauliflower, lily, tulip and gladiolus.

In 2019, the company co-operated with the Institute of Forestry Research and Development under Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry to successfully research and grow the Cordyceps sinensis. The company's Cordyceps sinensis, which are propagated from varieties in Tibet (China), have very high nutritional value.

The company's products have been evaluated by scientists to meet quality standards and have been presented on the market with many products such as fresh and dried Cordyceps sinensis; Cordyceps wine and Cordyceps honey.

The development of organic agriculture and clean agriculture on the top of the mountain combined with resort have attracted many domestic and foreign tourists to visit the area. Every year, the resort welcomes more than 10,000 visitors, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of tourists to the district.

Turning hilly land into an eco-tourism area

More than a decade ago, Kolia eco-tourism and resort of the company was a cattle grazing area of Phja Den Hamlet with hills that are mainly covered by natural forest trees.

Hoang Manh Ngoc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, has realised many great unawaken potentials in the area after he researched and took his own surveys.

Initially, the project of building the Kolia eco-tourism and resort went into operation with many difficulties.

The climate here is fresh but harsh, the winter temperature sometimes drops below 2 degrees Celsius because it located at an altitude of 1,200 metres to the southwest of the Phja Oac Mountain.

Besides, the lack of electricity, water, roads are also the initial obstacles of the project.

Ngoc said the most difficult initially was finding a source of water leading up the hill to ensure cultivation. Pipes and water sources must be installed at a distance of 7 km from the foot of the mountain for use.

At that time, the road was still small, there was no entrance to the car, his staff had to clean up the weeds in nearly 30 hectares of land and open more than 5 km of road, leading to the farm and tea-growing areas.

The company also had to install low-voltage stations then set up tents in the midst of severe weather to have temporary accommodation.

After 10 years, a spacious eco-tourism - resort area has been established in the middle of the mountains and forests to welcome tourists to visit and relax.

Currently, the resort has 10 rooms and 2 stilt houses to serve nearly 200 guests. The garden, fountain, and tea terraces are arranged in harmony way to create a tranquil space amidst fresh nature. There are hundreds of flowers, including roses, lily, hydrangea, sunflower, and daisy, blooming in four seasons.