After the harvest, the terraced fields in Gia Ha village, Phuc Khanh commune, Lao Cai province, smell of fresh straw. Inside the small kitchen of Ms. Ban Thi Ngon, a Tay ethnic woman, the gentle hum of the green sticky rice machine beats a steady rhythm. The delicate aroma of the green rice flakes blends with the warmth of the fire. Leaning over the homemade machine, Ms. Ngon’s eyes are focused, her hands constantly stirring to ensure every grain cooks evenly.

This seemingly ordinary task is the result of a long journey that was enhanced with a brave decision four years ago—and a single, unexpected moment that changed everything.

Returning home to the scent of green sticky rice

In 2010, Ngon and her husband first tried their hand at making green rice flakes. She explains that for the Tay people, green sticky rice is more than just a dish; it’s a greeting for a new season, a flavor that appears during special ceremonies and full moon days, and was once a “survival food” during difficult times. “I saw my neighbors doing it and it didn’t seem too hard, so I decided to try,” she says. This is how her journey began.

At that time, her family’s traditional method was still the same as it had always been: a clay oven, manual pounding, and winnowing. A group of 5-6 people could only produce a few kilograms of green sticky rice a day. She thought there had to be a more effective way. “If we used machines, we could make more, and more consistently. We could have our own brand and create more jobs for the community. Why not?” Ngon shared.

The first steps were not easy. Her parents didn’t want to change, fearing they would lose the “soul” of the traditional green sticky rice. Only her husband stood by her, though he sometimes sighed, “I don’t know what we’re doing this for.”

She took out a bank loan to buy a machine, hoping to work faster and produce more green sticky rice consistently. But things didn’t go as planned: the machine didn’t produce the quality she wanted, orders were sparse, and the loan payments were always due. She had to put her dream on hold, leaving for Bac Giang to work as a factory worker to pay off her debt.

After more than two years away, her family’s finances stabilised. But every time she smelled fresh rice, she missed the green sticky rice and the feeling of making a delicious local specialty with her own hands. That desire grew: this time, she was determined to do it right. She talked it over with her husband, settled her affairs, and decided to return to Lao Cai. She came back not just to “start over”, but to start over differently: learning from her failure, moving slowly and steadily, and rebuilding her craft from the ground up.

The years of trying

From 2020 to 2023, she entered a period of trial and error. By day, she produced green sticky rice; by night, she became a mechanic for her own business. An old tea roasting machine was repurposed into a green sticky rice roaster. The first year, she discovered her fire technique was wrong; the next year, she realised the machine was improperly assembled.

Many batches were ruined, smelling burnt, too wet, or too dry. On some days, she had to throw away more than half of a dozen batches. The question, “Why can others do this and I can’t?” followed her throughout those months.

The fateful batch

In late 2023, after a series of low-quality batches, she sat silently by the stove, the thought of giving up mingling with her exhaustion. “Tomorrow will be the last batch,” she told herself. The next morning, she stepped into the kitchen with the mindset of someone on their final journey. But this time, she changed everything: she adjusted the heat, extended the roasting time, stirred at a slower rhythm, listened for the sound of the grains popping, and felt the heat through her hands. The old machine rattled, but it didn’t skip a beat.

When she lifted the lid, the aroma of the green sticky rice filled the air—sweet, soft, and a beautiful shimmering green. She put a grain in her mouth and bit down gently. The flavor melted on her tongue, perfectly moist and fragrant. She stood stunned, unable to believe it. For the first time, the green sticky rice had the exact flavor she had dreamed of since the beginning.

That batch of green sticky rice saved her determination. She calls it her “fateful batch”—the moment that pulled her back from the brink of giving up.

Soon after, a large green sticky rice facility in Yen Bai—just a short distance from her home—had to temporarily shut down. Customers began to seek out Ms. Ngon. Her streamlined process and consistent quality impressed many people. Production increased from 300-400 kg of sticky rice per day to over 1 ton per day, equivalent to 700 kg of green sticky rice. For her, these weren’t just numbers; they were a testament to her years of persistence.

However, this opportunity also brought many challenges. As production increased so rapidly, Ngon and her family faced new questions: how to manage finances when revenue grew so fast, how to leverage this opportunity to retain customers, and how to build a sustainable business brand for her family.

When opportunity meets guidance

This turning point in technology and market access coincided with another change: digital transformation. After that fateful day, the reputation of Ms. Ngon’s green sticky rice spread. Recognising her potential, Ms. Vu Trang Nhung, Chairwoman of the Phuc Khanh Commune Women’s Union, introduced her to the IDAP project.

IDAP, which stands for Inclusive Digital Accelleration Program, is a project implemented by KisStartup with support from the Australian government-funded GREAT Program. The project aims to build a stronger digital ecosystem in Lao Cai and empower ethnic minority women and people with disabilities through digital skills such as online sales, social media, photography and video editing, artificial intelligence application, and learning digital literacy to innovate their business models.

When she heard about IDAP, Ngon was hesitant. “Am I a good fit? Will I learn anything?” she wondered. But after Ms. Nhung’s encouragement, she decided to try. And so, Ms. Ngon signed up for the project with a very practical goal: “How can I make my green sticky rice workshop more professional?”

She was guided by the project experts on the most fundamental aspects of business management, such as revenue, cost, human resources, and tax management—things she had never thought were necessary before. In each class, she filled in the missing pieces: comprehensive management, cost calculation, and personnel management.

She started systematically recording revenue and expenses, seeing it as the foundation for growth: only by understanding her cash flow could she plan to expand and continue learning digital tools for financial and business management. What she had previously had to figure out on her own was now guided by mentors and supported by digital tools.

Bringing the brand to the digital world

In addition to management “backbone”, she was also trained how to tell her green sticky rice story in the digital world. She learned how to create communication content and set up her own social media pages to promote her “Viet Dan Green Sticky Rice” brand. As someone who enjoys experimenting, Ngon embraced these new challenges, from creating the channels to managing information and building content.

She digitised her products by telling her green sticky rice story on Facebook and diligently posting on TikTok, which helped her reach many more customers. Every comment, every message was an opportunity to explain her product and schedule an order—all beginning with the specific digital skills she learned and practiced daily. She also learned to use ChatGPT for planning her work and cost estimation, which helped her make more informed and efficient investment decisions.

The training sessions significantly boosted her confidence in communicating and presenting her products—a core skill for appearing and persuading customers more effectively on camera and online.
Furthermore, Ngon learned how to diversify her products. While she previously relied solely on green sticky rice, this year she has learned to utilise her raw materials to create other products like bánh dầy (round sticky rice cakes) and five-color sticky rice, and to sell her local sticky rice variety. This change helps her generate steady income all year round, instead of being limited to the green sticky rice season.

Growth from local roots

Once her operations were up and running, she continuously refined the process with her husband, collaborating with a technical specialist to optimise the machine, and proactively planting sticky rice on her own land for a stable source of raw material. During one conversation, the director of the machine manufacturing facility praised her directly: “I’ve never seen a woman handle technical work like you do.”

While focusing on the “crown”—the digital channels—she hasn’t forgotten the “root”: raw materials. Her family plants their own sticky rice for the workshop, ensuring a stable supply even as her sales channels expand. Her learning and her work support each other: management keeps the workshop running smoothly; digital channels spread the green sticky rice story far and wide; and her rice fields ensure the flavor of her hometown’s traditional green sticky rice remains authentic.

After refining her process, keeping systematic records, and telling her story online, her revenue for 2025 increased by 60-70% compared to the same period last year. This is not just a reward for her persistent efforts but also a clear sign: her new approach is working.

With more orders, she hired two local women to help out during the busy season. From a small, self-sufficient workshop, her green sticky rice business is now creating income for people in her community—truly embodying the spirit of “doing my work well so we can all do better.”

The revenue growth and additional seasonal workers are no accident. They are the result of a series of changes: close management, consistent digital communication, and stable quality. When the green sticky rice story is told correctly, more customers seek it out, and her hometown gains more jobs.

With the GREAT program as a partner at the right time, she gained the digital language to tell her story, the management foundation to not be overwhelmed by increasing orders, and the confidence to stand as a representative for her own product.

Today, the small green sticky rice workshop in Lao Cai is still lit up from dawn until dusk. Sometimes she posts a short TikTok video of a new batch, other times it’s just a Facebook photo of the first sticky rice grains of the season. Outside, her husband prepares the storage area and rearranges the machine; inside the kitchen, the steam from the hot green sticky rice rises. These small, repetitive actions are exactly how she is building a new life for her family, one steady step at a time. This story is still unfolding, and one thing she knows for sure is: as long as there are customers who want good green sticky rice and young people who want to learn the trade, she will continue to innovate and she will continue to tell her story—with her own hands and with technology—so that her hometown’s green sticky rice can travel far while keeping its original flavor.