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| Handicraft Embroidery Cooperative Thanh Ha provides guidance to artisans on weaving and embroidering recycled products for export markets. Photo: Thanh Thuy Women’s Union |
Creating green, sustainable livelihoods
In the early days of starting the business, the handicraft sewing workshop of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha in Thanh Thuy Ward consisted of a small group of women with disabilities who practiced handicrafts to improve their income. Having personally experienced hardship, she understood better than anyone the difficulties faced by women with disabilities in finding stable employment.
From her determination to create jobs for women facing difficult circumstances, her embroidery workshop gradually expanded in both scale and product quality. Today, the Thanh Ha Handicraft Embroidery Cooperative has more than 10 members and many seasonal workers, opening up a new development direction for a collective economic model closely linked to the circular and green economy.
Not only does the cooperative continue producing traditional embroidery products, but it has also expanded into handicrafts made from recycled materials such as fabric scraps, cardboard, beer cans, plastic bottles, and more, in line with the local conditions and capabilities of local women. From seemingly discarded materials, cooperative members have created a variety of practical and aesthetically appealing products, including hair clips, bracelets, fashion accessories, and other handcrafted items.
This model has created additional employment opportunities and increased income for women, while also helping to promote the habit of sorting and reusing household waste, encouraging a green and environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, Director of the Thanh Ha Handicraft Embroidery Cooperative, shared: “After completion, our recycled handicraft products are connected with shops, businesses, and local manufacturing facilities that require outsourcing services and consuming units, helping to expand the market and create stable outlets. We have also received support and guidance to further develop these products alongside experiential tourism activities in Thanh Toan tiled-roof bridge area to promote the local image while creating jobs and increasing income for women in the area.”
One of the cooperative’s members since its early days, Ms. Truong Thi Ngoc Anh of Thanh Thuy Ward shared: “Since joining the cooperative, I have had steady work and a stable flow of orders. Everyone in the cooperative willingly shares their embroidery skills and experience, which has made the work easier and my income more stable than before.”
While the Thanh Ha Hand Embroidery Cooperative has made its mark through a green economic model integrated with experiential tourism, the Huong Tra Banana Fiber and Agricultural Services Cooperative has pioneered a new approach by maximizing the value of banana tree stems and promoting a circular economy. Although recently established, the cooperative has gradually built a reputation for product quality and secured a position in the market. It currently produces and markets more than ten banana-based products, including banana powder, banana wine, dried bananas, banana fiber fabric, hat-making fiber, and a variety of other handicraft products.
In the cooperative’s production process, nearly every part of the banana plant can be utilized and transformed into different products. From banana fibers to banana pulp and other by-products, each component can generate economic value when properly processed and developed.
In addition to main products such as banana powder and dried bananas, banana stems are also processed by cleaning and drying. The banana fibers are then twisted and braided into ropes of various sizes and further treated to produce bags, baskets, brooms, paper, and many other unique and diverse handcrafted products. Notably, banana fiber is highly durable, soft, smooth, and strong, and it is less prone to mold or shrinkage under humid weather conditions. The cooperative also utilizes banana pulp and other residual biomass as a growing medium for agricultural production, further enhancing resource efficiency and sustainability.
Ms. Hoang Thi Linh, Director of the Huong Tra Banana Fiber and Agricultural Services Cooperative, stated: “The market for banana fiber products has significant growth potential, particularly as environmentally friendly materials are becoming increasingly popular. The cooperative has received support from the city’s Cooperative Alliance, as well as various government agencies and local authorities, in developing its business model, promoting trade, and expanding market access. At present, the production cost of banana fiber remains relatively high, which makes market competition challenging. Nevertheless, the cooperative will continue to invest in research, technological innovation, and digital transformation to strengthen production and business operations. The banana fiber industry has been established and developing for nearly 20 years in countries such as the Philippines, India, and China. It is a field with substantial growth potential if developed in the right direction.”
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| Products of the Huong Tra Banana Fiber and Agricultural Services Cooperative are introduced to the market |
A Driving Force for Economic Development
The cooperatives are not only active in the agricultural and handicraft sectors, but they are also expanding into a diverse range of fields, including transportation, tourism, information technology, environmental services, and trade… with the scale of operation and the quality of their products and services continue to improve.
To date, the city is home to 321 cooperatives operating across a wide range of sectors. These include 223 agricultural, forestry, and fisheries cooperatives; 34 industrial and handicraft cooperatives; 33 transportation cooperatives; and 7 people's credit funds, along with numerous cooperatives engaged in tourism, environmental services, information technology, trade, and other service industries.
In 2025, the city established 12 new cooperatives, bringing total membership to nearly 95,000 members and providing employment for more than 39,000 regular workers. The average annual revenue reached approximately VND 3.75 billion per cooperative. Many cooperatives have effectively served as a bridge between household-based economies and the market, supporting members through input services, production organization, product consumption, and gradually integrating them deeper into the value chains. In particular, many modern cooperative models have proactively adopted science and technology, embraced digital transformation, developed One Commune One Product (OCOP) products, built strong brand identities, and expanded their market reach.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Chairman of the City Cooperative Alliance, stated: “In recent years, the city’s cooperative sector has experienced significant positive growth in both the number of cooperatives and the quality of their operations. Cooperatives are not only expanding in scale, but their management and governance practices are also gradually evolving. Many cooperatives have boldly invested in technology, developed products based on green and circular economy principles, and integrated their activities with experiential tourism. This is a direction that aligns well with the city’s sustainable development strategy.”
In recent years, the City Cooperative Alliance has implemented a variety of initiatives to support cooperatives, including assistance with the establishment of new cooperatives, training to improve management capacity, organizing trade promotion, connecting product consumption, and supporting participation in trade fairs, local markets, and product exhibitions both inside and outside the city. In addition, the City Cooperative Alliance has collaborated on digital transformation programs, helping cooperatives bring their products to e-commerce platforms and connect with modern distribution networks to expand market access for the cooperatives' products.
Throughout 2025, numerous trade promotion activities were organized with the participation of dozens of cooperatives and partner enterprises. Several OCOP products, handicrafts, and specialty agricultural products from Hue have gradually gained access to major distribution networks. Beyond market support, government agencies and local authorities have actively assisted cooperatives in accessing policies and resources related to financing, science and technology, vocational training, and production development. Notably, the growth of women-led cooperatives, youth entrepreneurship cooperatives, and circular economy models has created new momentum for the cooperative sector.
Although there are still many challenges related to capital, land, workforce, and consumer market, the growth of cooperatives across the city demonstrates that the cooperative sector is no longer an outdated model slow to innovate, but is gradually becoming an important driving force for local economic development.