Vietnam
Tea, ginger, and cinnamon are just some of the products that our experts purchase through ViVang Company LTD , our Vietnamese supplier.
Our company has been engaging in several fair trade projects in Vietnam since 1997. ViVang, with which we work in close cooperation since the mid 90’s, collects the goods from hundreds of certified, small-scale farmers and wild pickers in the provinces of Yên Bái and Lạng Sơn. Many of them live in inaccessible villages in the mountains. Under the supervision and with the help of ViVang, the processing of the raw materials is carried out locally, and it involves entire communities. Organic Flavour Company supports, among others, a project in the village of Suoi Bu, were our fine green tea grows. Before tea forests were discovered in the surroundigs of Suoi Bu, the village had been cut off from the rest of the world. The 50-families community used to live in poverty, with a high rate of opium consumption. The whole village, which used to survive on subsistence agriculture, benefits from the production of the tea that we purchase. Most people now have a job, a reasonable income, and brighter prospects for the future.
Furthermore, OFC supports the education of children and the improvement of their school areas. For instance, our company has financially supported the construction of a new school in Yen Bai, one of the areas we trade with. With these projects we aim at contributing to a better future for the farmers and for their children.