The hillsides of Buot village, Tan Xuan commune, Son La province, are covered in lush greenery—corn fields winding up the slopes and bamboo groves rustling in the wind—supporting the resilient livelihood of the local people. In the nearby forests, bamboo shoots are a vital product, central to the community’s meals and income, especially for ethnic minority women whose strong shoulders are used to heavy loads and whose skillful hands know how to select the tender shoots.

Bamboo shoot production is demanding, requiring stamina and meticulous care, and it has historically faced frequent instability: unreliable output markets, volatile prices, and fragmented preservation and pre-processing techniques, lacking both tools and information. Over-exploitation has thinned the natural forest shoots, making household income precarious. “We live off the forest, but the forest is being exhausted because of us,” reflects Ms. Ha Thi Cuc, a Thai ethnic woman. Amidst these difficulties, persistent individuals like Ms. Cuc chose to press on, hoping that one day, bamboo shoots would be more than just a wild harvest; they would be a stable livelihood, ensuring each shoot carries the belief in a less uncertain future.

Market shift and the right crop

Before 2022, bamboo shoot production in the village was fragmented: each household did what they knew best. Prices plummeted during bumper harvests, and there was no consistent market in lean years. The women were hesitant to interact with outsiders, rarely used digital channels, and information on standards, techniques, and the market arrived slowly and unevenly. Consequently, incomes were unstable, and belief in a “work together—sell together” model had not yet taken root.

Facing these challenges, Cuc decided to persevere. She joined the Tan Xuan Clean Bamboo Shoot Cooperative with the sole ambition of finding a sustainable livelihood path for herself and her community. Her years working with the Commune Women’s Union gave her deep insight into household livelihoods, and her credibility with the village chief and core groups quickly led to her election as the cooperative’s leader.

Opportunity arose when the cooperative received support from the Australian Government’s GREAT Program through the Son La bamboo shoot development project, implemented by CRED Agriculture and Tourism Consulting Company (CRED TAC).

Through training sessions on cultivation, care, harvesting techniques, cooperative management, leadership, and gender equality, she gradually found her own strength. “I learned to listen and to speak using facts. To persuade others, you need a plan, conviction, and tangible results,” she recalls.
With the project’s support, the cooperative built workshops and installed drying ovens and bamboo shoot boiling pots, giving Cuc and the members their first taste of a semi-industrial production model. Concurrently, she observed the neighboring Xuan Nha Clean Bamboo Shoot Cooperative, which successfully manages the cultivation, pre-processing, and consumption of Bát Độ bamboo shoots. “I saw the future of my own cooperative in their story,” she stated. “We have the land, the people, and the experience; we just lacked the confidence and the commitment to act.”

The journey to a more consistent market

One morning, Ms. Cuc drove over 180km to Kim Boi, Hoa Binh, seeking an opportunity to sign a sales contract for the cooperative. However, the first negotiation failed. A company expressed interest in purchasing but declined to offer any pre-production cash advances. For a young cooperative without established systems or tools, this was unsurprising—but it underscored exactly what needed to change: they needed partners, clear standards, and a long-term roadmap to move forward sustainably.

From this experience, Ms. Cuc drew two key lessons: businesses only commit when they can count on consistent quality, and the cooperative needed concrete proposals rather than broad promises. Later, with project’s support, she was connected with Yen Thanh Bamboo Shoot Company, a buyer with clear technical specifications for pre-processed bamboo shoots. This time, Cuc adjusted her negotiation approach. She proposed a trial season to demonstrate the quality of the cooperative’s bamboo shoots. In October 2022, they delivered their first batch to Yen Thanh. The quality met the required standards, and the company agreed to a purchasing contract for the 2023 season—a “ticket” that enabled the cooperative to restructure everything from technical training to overall production organisation.

Opening the doors to change

However, the contract was just a starting point. To ensure long-term stability, Tan Xuan needed a suitable bamboo variety that could standardise quality right from the source. Drawing on her research and self-study, Cuc recommended shifting away from harvesting natural forest shoots to cultivating, buying, and processing Bat Do bamboo—a large-rooted, easy-to-grow variety well-suited for pre-processing.

The early stages were challenging—villagers were reluctant to invest, concerned about risks, and afraid the crop might fail. Cuc visited every village and household, explaining the plan and assuring them of a stable market and the cooperative’s full support, from seedlings to purchasing. Gradually, Bat Do bamboo plots began to emerge on Tan Xuan’s land. By the end of 2023, the commune had planted 43 hectares of Bat Do bamboo shoot, with confidence growing with every thriving bamboo clump.

Following the successful 2023 season, Yen Thanh proposed a 15-year contract in early 2024. Ms. Cuc immediately explained the “bamboo grower’s logic”: Bat Do bamboo takes three years to produce a harvest. A short contract would discourage households from investing in seedlings, cultivation, and processing equipment, and it would likewise make the cooperative hesitant to commit to its own investments. To guarantee stability and consistent quality, the agreement needed to be long-term. Her clear reasoning—combined with the cooperative’s proven performance (the successful trial batch in October 2022 and stable deliveries throughout 2023)—convinced the company to extend the term to 30 years. It was a landmark decision for the Tan Xuan Cooperative. For the first time, Buot villagers could plan their livelihoods with a long-term horizon rather than merely “living season to season.”

Long-term success requires basic discipline

After the first successful seasons, Yen Thanh began transferring technical expertise to the cooperative and local farmers—from proper cultivation and timely harvesting to pre-processing techniques. The cooperative formed a technical team that traveled to all nine villages to provide hands-on guidance and set up Zalo groups to share collection schedules and visual examples of correct and incorrect practices, ensuring every household align with the same standards.

With upgraded infrastructure and equipment—including the workshop, innovated boiling pots, strapping machines, vacuum sealers, and fermentation tanks—women in the cooperative were able to reduce pre-processing time, standardise the boiling, fermenting, and packaging steps, minimise losses, and ensure consistent quality across batches. As a result, the final product became cleaner, better sealed, and more stable—meeting the company’s requirements while also boosting processing capacity and enabling the cooperative to buy more from households.

The impressive results

In 2025, Tan Xuan Cooperative expanded its plantation area to 147 hectares and processed over 50 tons of bamboo shoots—double the 2024 volume (24 tons) and nearly eight times that of 2023 (7 tons). This growth has created stable, employment for dozens of local women, especially those from ethnic minorities. Household income is steadily increasing, with cash flow now revolving quarterly instead of seasonally. Each bamboo shoot season, the workshop buzzes with laughter, machine noise, and warm steam filling the air.

For three consecutive years, Ms. Ha Thi Cuc has been awarded the “Good Mobilisation” commendation by the Son La Provincial People’s Committee Chairman for her success in encouraging villagers to adopt Bat Do bamboo cultivation. She personally visited each village to advocate for the initiative, organise group meetings, provide basic technical training, and ensure the output was purchased by the company, motivating many households to switch crops. This recognition highlights her central role in expanding the plantation area, creating local jobs, and steering the cooperative toward a more stable and professional operation.

Throughout this journey, Ms. Cuc has been more than a director—she is a source of inspiration. She emphasises, “Change begins with belief—believing in yourself and believing that the community will succeed with you.” Under her leadership, women are no longer on the sidelines in cooperative meetings. They actively participate in technical teams and production management groups, speaking up with confidence and contributing to decision-making.

Moving forward: From a 30-year commitment to a professional bamboo area

In fact, this story is now only just at the “starting line.” A long journey still lies ahead: continuing to standardise seasonal techniques, expand cooperative groups to balance daily processing capacity, invest in energy-efficient upgrades for the innovated boiling pots, and enforce strict quality control for each batch to ensure consistent deliveries.

The Tan Xuan Clean Bamboo Shoot Cooperative also needs to train a core successor generation, especially young women, to ensure each village has someone to “maintain the rhythm” of technical standards and the production Zalo group. Based on this foundation, a local brand story—from packaging and labeling to product narratives—can be built, ensuring the guaranteed offtake while opening doors to new distribution channels.

Like any long-term agreement, the “30 years” is more than a number in a contract. It represents a daily commitment to doing things correctly and consistently; it is the confidence gathered from every young bamboo clump, every early-morning boiled batch, and every village meeting where standards are reinforced. When the right linkage, precise technique, and long-term commitment converge, a professional bamboo area will quietly but steadily take shape.

Ms. Ha Thi Cuc’s journey, therefore, has just begun: a sustained effort to ensure that “farming is also about taking ownership,” and that the women of Tan Xuan continue to stand at the forefront, leading their community further down the chosen path.