 |
| Loc Thuy Cajuput Essential Oil Cooperative’s products launched on the market |
Aspiring to reach further
Located amid a renowned melaleuca (cajuput) planting region, the Loc Thuy Cajuput Essential Oil Cooperative in Chan May – Lang Co commune has preserved the traditional craft of distilling cajuput essential oil for many years, while actively creating jobs and ensuring stable consumption for its residents. Not only producing its flagship product of pure cajuput essential oil, the cooperative has continuously researched and innovated technology to bring new products to market, such as essential oil balms, incense cones and sticks, along with many health-care products derived from local medicinal herbs. Alongside this, the cooperative also organizes traditional craft experience activities for students and tourists, helping to promote local culture and increase the value of its products.
Ms. Mai Thi Thuy Duong, a member of the Loc Thuy Cajuput Essential Oil Cooperative, shared: “Joining the cooperative has not only given my family a stable market for our products but has also given us access to modern sales methods and digital technology applications in production and business. As a result, members' incomes have become increasingly stable, and living standards have clearly improved.”
Recently, the cooperative’s cajuput essential oil product was honored with the Mai An Tiem Award. This recognized a persistent journey to build a local product brand tied to innovation and sustainable development. Mr. Tran Xuan Tien, Deputy Director of the Loc Thuy Cajuput Essential Oil Cooperative, said the award is a great source of encouragement for the cooperative to continue investing in improving product quality, expanding its market, accelerating digital transformation, and developing more new product lines from the cajuput tree. “We are determined to keep innovating and raising the value of our traditional products to meet consumers’ increasingly high demands, while also creating more jobs and income for our residents,” said Mr. Tien.
 |
| Craft demonstration at the Azakooh Green Brocade Cooperative |
In the highland commune of A Luoi 2, the Azakooh Green Brocade Cooperative is becoming a bright spot in developing the collective economy in connection with preserving ethnic culture.
Established in 2019, the cooperative has now attracted 130 members, mostly women from ethnic minority and mountainous communities. Whereas the products of the zeng weaving craft mainly served local needs in the past, they are now known to many customers both within and outside the city. As consumption has increased, local people and cooperative members have gained more jobs and stable income sources.
This change has come from boldly applying digital technology to promotion, sales, and brand building. Thanks to the support programs from local authorities, Hue City Cooperative Alliance, and related agencies, the Azakooh Cooperative’s brocade products are increasingly reaching more customers.
Artisan Mai Thi Hop, Director of the Azakooh Green Brocade Cooperative, said, “In the past, brocade products mainly served the needs of local people. After receiving support and training in technology skills and market connections, we boldly brought our products onto digital platforms and social media. As a result, our products now reach many more customers. Having our traditional ao-dai combined with zeng fabric receive the Mai An Tiem Award is a great honor. It is also a driving force for us to continue expanding production, preserving the traditional craft, and increasing income for our members.”
Beyond creating jobs and increasing income for hundreds of highland women, the model also helps preserve the distinctive cultural values of ethnic minority communities, giving the brocade weaving craft the opportunity to develop sustainably within modern life.
 |
| Demonstration of Bao La bamboo and rattan product manufacturing |
Affirming the position of Hue’s collective economy
As one of Hue’s well-known traditional craft villages, the Bao La Bamboo and Rattan Weaving Production and Service Cooperative, located in Dan Dien commune, is demonstrating the strong vitality of the collective economic model combined with innovation.
Established in 2007, the cooperative currently has nearly 150 regular workers with a monthly average income of 5–6 million VND per person. Two of the cooperative’s artisans have been recognized by the City People’s Committee for their contributions to preserving and developing the traditional craft.
The cooperative currently produces more than 500 different types of products serving the needs of tourists, restaurants, hotels, and cafes, and exports to markets such as Japan, the United States, and China. Each year, its members continue to research and create nearly 30 new product designs to meet market demand.
The cooperative’s set of baskets and decorative lanterns has been certified as a 4-star OCOP product and is being proposed for 5-star OCOP recognition. This is also Hue’s flagship product that won the Mai An Tiem Award in 2024, and the cooperative was further honored at the 2026 CoopStar Awards.
Mr. Vo Van Dinh, Director of the Bao La Bamboo and Rattan Weaving Production and Service Cooperative, said that these prestigious awards are well-deserved recognition of the cooperative’s collective innovation efforts. They are also a driving force for creating new products, expanding export markets, raising workers’ incomes, and helping preserve the traditional craft of their homeland.
In the journey of building Hue into a green, smart city rich in identity, cooperatives are increasingly affirming their core role in developing the collective economy.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Chairman of Hue City Cooperative Alliance, said, “The CoopStar Awards honor creative, dynamic, and internationally integrated cooperative models, while the Mai An Tiem Award inspires the spirit of overcoming hardship and the aspiration to rise through cooperatives’ own internal strength. These two awards are not only a source of pride for the honored units but also help affirm the position of Hue’s collective economy nationwide.”
Currently, Hue city has 324 cooperatives with more than 95,000 members. The annual average revenue reaches about 3.75 billion VND per cooperative. These cooperatives operate effectively across many fields, including agriculture, industry and handicrafts, trade and services, transportation, tourism, and information technology.
In recent times, the City Cooperative Alliance has actively supported cooperatives in human resource training, trade promotion, digital transformation, brand building, OCOP product development, and consumption connections. Many distinctive products of Hue, ranging from cajuput essential oil and brocade to bamboo/rattan weaving and clean agricultural products, have gradually affirmed their place in domestic and international markets.
Awards such as Mai An Tiem and the CoopStar Awards help spread the spirit of innovation and creativity within the collective economic sector. This is the driving force behind cooperatives’ continuous development, improvement of their competitiveness, brand building, and contributing to bringing Hue’s products to reach further.
From fragrant drops of cajuput essential oil and brocade fabrics rich in mountain-forest identity to finely crafted bamboo and rattan products, Hue’s cooperatives are continuing to write their story of development through creativity, solidarity, and aspiration. Today’s prestigious awards are not only a destination but also a driving force for Hue’s collective economy to continue shining on its journey of integration and sustainable development.