Ani Tashchyan
Angelina Tong
Artem Myagkov
Mariia Grafeeva
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Ekaterina Ivanova
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The Huesa Farm Bao Loc strives for creating organic products and bringing people together for a better life. The founder of the farm believes a clean business comes from a clean mind. As Trang told us, “The mind and the way of planting must be the purest”.
The business innovation is not just growing organic products. It also includes creating positive energy and good intentions for changing the environment. The team strives for building a more sustainable lifestyle for themselves and for everyone who wants to join. A Trang told us, when working “the environment in the mind must be clear, so the living space and the trees will receive energy from you. You must have a clean mind and a desire to bring the best products to everyone.” Thus, our hero highlights a healthy lifestyle, an inner source to start doing everything. This leads to the idea of combining an organic farm and a homestay for those who not only want to eat healthily, but also to live healthily.
When it comes to the farm, the name “Huesa Farm" in Vietnamese means “Garden of Spirituality” or “Healing Farm”, where people can not only relax, but also heal by working in the garden. The goal is to allow people to find spiritual balance on the farm, to get rid of everyday worries. Harvesting allows volunteers to cleanse themselves of toxins, heal mentally and physically.
People can just come and enjoy organic products from farms, be healthy physically and mentally, enjoy nature and be a part of it. Instead of focusing on profit, the company focuses on ensuring economic security and at the same time on providing environmentally friendly food to society. The most important thing is that they do it with all the love and energy invested in the product. As Trang mentions, “The mind and the way of planting should be the purest,” and adds, “When we start living together, there is an energy that resonates with each other, the spirit of living together, and everyone will be healed physically and mentally.”
Products
About 3 hectares of fruit trees mangosteen and durian are available in the garden. Those are the two main things for sale. Those fruits have been selling for several years now.
Partnerships and channels of contribution
There are several channels such as traders, some have been created since last year, and the number of new partnerships is constantly growing. This year, the company sold a lot to friends, people ordered from all cities and provinces. There are plans to open several more channels, or if people come to us, they will be able to order what they want.
This idea came during the lockdown not only to Trang’s mind, as she told us, there was a so-called popular trend of "leaving the city for the countryside" among the Vietnamese young people. Everyone has come from all parts of the country to the Farm, but they have a mutual desire of building what they call “Shambala”. Now they are just at the very beginning, but they firmly believe in a new healthy world for everyone.
As Trang said, “But the sustainability here, if one has the dedication to stick with it to the end, surely after a long time their trees will stay healthy. That means we have to firmly believe in our idea of creating clean products.”
Although the entrepreneur admits that organic farming is very difficult in today's circumstances, her team stays very sure that they have to reach their sustainable and long-term goals.
Trang, who is a sustainable economy teacher by profession, believes that “Sustainable development must ensure three elements. The first is to ensure the economic aspect, the second is the community aspect and the third is the environmental aspect” (Trang used to teach sustainable economy in the capital city before, as she shared with us). From the people's perspective, our hero emphasizes that self-development is important for everybody working in the Farm. They learn about gardening step by step. They learn to work and live with each other, overcoming cultural barriers. They create a positive living space for everyone who wants to come and heal in nature. Furthermore, the business contributes to environmental sustainability as they do not use any chemicals in gardening and create organic fertilizer to minimize waste.
The business creates a living space and workplace for people with the mutual goal of creating a sustainable community. However, economic efficiency is low because growing organic products requires a lot of effort, but it is sold at the same price. The farm abandoned the use of chemicals in order to sell more fruits, like most competitors. Trang says that they have not reached the level of stabilization, and still are facing struggles in sales. It is due to the fact that consumers are not ready to accept organic products as they are. People prefer paying less or buying products that look more attractive to them.
The biggest problem is consumers cannot accept the real price of environmentally friendly products. They can only be bought at a slightly higher price or at the usual market price. This creates difficulties: the price is low, but labor costs are high, and it is more difficult to grow an environmentally friendly product. If the Farm buys chemical fertilizer, it will give an immediate result but the company chooses a long-lasting effect by focusing on producing its own fertilizers from the garden and decides to spend more effort. The farm constantly conducts research and determines the right direction for the business or finds distribution channels that sell high-quality products, staying loyal to their sustainability goals. They believe that in the long-run perspective, it must bring back greater results.
People come to this garden to work or live, as Trang did someday. At some moment they just decide to change their lifestyle and come to this farm to enjoy spirituality and unity with nature. Thanks to the resources of the organic farm, where chemicals are not used, fresh air, delicious fruits, amazing landscape and hard work, people get everything they need so that the human body can return to the genetic past and heal mentally and physically. As Trang told us, most of them got “detoxified. Everyone was very happy. Some people were healed mentally, others were healed physically. When we come to live together, there is energy that resonates with each other, the spirit of living together.”
Many people come to the farm from different regions and get to know different cultures and lifestyles, learn to live together, learn to share and learn to empathize with each other. This is the most important thing in social terms. Most people, after getting used to this place after a while, tend to get even more attached to it.
The work of the farm certainly contributes to the planet and environmental sustainability. Everyone on the farm protects the plants with the help of safe biological control so as not to harm “Mother Earth". They try to minimize environmental damage by supplying clean products, recycling waste on the farm and producing fertilizers from them. As Trang says, “It's safer, and I'm certainly aware of its purity. Fertilizers made from durian peel or banana tree trunks”. Although the company can buy fertilizers, here they want to take advantage of what they already have. And waste is also processed here. This is an effective result for the environment.
The environment here is not only about garbage disposal, but also the living space environment. Trang says that “When people have the idea of cleanliness, they will have a clean way of living. What does clean living mean? Being neat, tidy... or planting trees with good intentions. That also creates a mental environment. The environment in the mind must be clear, so the living space and the trees will receive energy from you. You must have a clean mind and a desire to bring the best products to everyone.”
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The Huesa Farm Bao Loc strives for creating organic products and bringing people together for a better life.
The local Vietnamese farm makes profit from selling products grown in its 5-hectare garden, largely mangosteens and jackfruits. The team is also in process to build a Farmstay for people who want to have a rest spending time in nature.
The business has a positive impact for people (both the working team and consumers) and the planet (by not using any chemicals in the garden and creating a natural fertilizer for organic products).