Ben Tre: A woman starting a business with shaved green coconuts

With the desire to bring consumers delicious green coconuts, ensuring food hygiene and safety, contributing to the consumption and promotion of the value of green coconuts of Ben Tre province to domestic and foreign customers, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Xa - Vice President of the Women's Union of Binh Long Hamlet, Chau Binh Commune, decided to start a business with the model "Kim Xa Coconut", initially bringing positive signals, quite high profits and the direction of expanding the scale in the coming time.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Xa introduces the start-up product "Green Coconut"

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Xa, born in 1983, comes from a farming family. With her will and determination, she always tries to have a happy family life. However, her marriage was not as she wished, it was unfinished halfway, she became a single mother to raise her children and always strive to work to develop the family economy. In December 2021, she cooperated with her younger brother to boldly start a business selling shaved green coconuts with an initial investment cost of 85 million VND including: factory, machinery and equipment.

Sharing about the initial startup idea, Ms. Xa said: She and her family members mainly earn income from monthly coconuts. Therefore, during the period of social distancing, there was a lot of coconut left over, so she thought and learned through outside information about shaved green coconuts, this product is very popular with customers. So I had the bold idea of ​​buying a machine to hire workers to peel the coconuts into finished products, which are shaved coconuts. This product is very popular with customers. Currently, the workers at the factory have a fairly stable income, and the number of coconuts produced every day is very large. And the factory's goal when the finished coconuts reach consumers is to ensure food safety, ensure health, and have reasonable prices.

In order for the coconuts to meet the requirements of delicious and sweet quality, Ms. Xa hires workers to go directly to the coconut garden to buy from households in the area inside and outside the commune. Because only those who are experienced in the profession know the thickness of the coconut meat. In particular, to know the sweetness of the coconut, her facility always tests the sweetness of the coconuts with a machine before purchasing, within the range of sweetness preferred by consumers.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Khoi - younger brother of Ms. Xa - who cooperated to open the coconut facility in Chau Binh commune said: The standard when buying coconuts from the garden to shave is, in the rainy season the sweetness is from 5 dots or more, in the dry season the sweetness is from 7 dots or more, I choose coconuts that are not too young, not too thick, coconuts that are too old have too much gas, customers will not be satisfied with the taste. Note that when buying coconuts from the garden, they must be shaved and the finished product delivered to consumers on the same day to ensure that the fruit retains the sweetness and natural freshness of the coconut.

After the coconuts are transported to the facility, according to Ms. Xa, to have a beautiful shaved green coconut that meets market requirements, it must go through many stages such as: peeling off the shell, using a peeler to peel off the hard part, soaking in natural lemon juice to whiten the coconut, scooping it out to drain and putting it in a dryer, then classifying the size of the coconut, wrapping it in paper with the brand and packing the finished product.

Since the start of the business, Ms. Xa's facility had 5 workers, now it has increased to 10 workers performing all stages from cutting coconuts, transporting, peeling to exporting. This has contributed to creating a stable income, solving the problem of idle labor in the locality with an income of 4 to 5 million VND/month per person.

"I go to work at 7:30 in the morning, I work 5 hours a day, I earn 150 thousand a day, and I earn 4 million a month. Besides, my husband helps me work, so the couple earns a stable income every month to take care of their daily lives - Ms. Phan Thi Dieu, Chau Binh commune, Giong Trom district" said:

The new point of Ms. Xa's green coconut product is to create a coconut product that is peeled and polished, with just a simple operation of inserting a straw into the coconut's eye, consumers can enjoy the delicious, sweet taste of green coconut. Currently, the market that Ms. Kim Xa's Coconut facility mainly supplies and distributes in districts, provinces and cities in the country and customers at some events, festivals, wholesale to retail stores. On average, each day her facility exports to the market from 1,000-1,500 fruits, minus costs, the profit is about 1 million VND per day.

Workers have stable jobs at the green coconut facility

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tam - Vice Chairman of Chau Binh Commune People's Committee said: Up to now, in Chau Binh commune, there are 405 establishments as well as households producing and trading services, 24 professional associations, 3 cooperatives and 01 cooperative operating stably. Currently, in the commune, there are 02 establishments trading in Siamese coconut products, especially shaved Siamese coconut, including Ms. Kim Xa's establishment. Since its establishment and operation until now, Ms. Kim Xa's shaved Siamese coconut establishment has been operating stably and developing, gradually expanding the scale of the establishment as well as the labor force. Especially developing more markets inside and outside the province. Up to now, Ms. Kim Xa's establishment has also been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product. According to the market situation, Ms. Kim Xa's establishment is likely to develop in the coming time as well as meet the market's tastes. Because we are doing business with shaved green coconuts, this is a clean product as well as a pure product from nature that meets the tastes of the market, especially the urban market in the coming time. For Chau Binh locality, in the coming time, we will also coordinate with the Front as well as the sectors and unions to continue to promote the development of more business households as well as production and business establishments that are qualified to develop into enterprises to enjoy the policies prescribed by the State. In addition, we also focus on adding to the planning to develop more routes as well as areas to create conditions to attract the development of enterprises as well as production and business establishments in the coming time to gradually shift the local labor structure from area 1 to area 2 and area 3 in the following years.

With the message "Chau Binh green coconuts are delicious, convenient, and safe for health", Kim Xa shaved green coconut facility wants to develop the model on a larger scale, be granted an OCOP product certificate by superiors to qualify for coconut products to be consumed in supermarkets and have the conditions to export to foreign markets. In addition, she wants to access loans with preferential interest rates to have money to buy more machines, equipment, and have capital to buy larger quantities of coconuts to supply more and more customers to develop the economy, contributing to the locality in building the criteria of a new model rural commune.

Starting a business successfully is already difficult, but for women, starting a business successfully is much more difficult. However, with the will to overcome difficulties, the courage to think and do, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Xa has initially succeeded with the start-up model from shaved green coconuts, rising to get rich with the products of her homeland and on her homeland's land. She is a shining example that needs to be spread in the women's startup movement in Chau Binh commune.

Ben Tre Women's Union