Posted on 01 June 2022

Nhien Thao (meaning ‘natural herbs’) is a woman-led SME that buys Non-Timber Forest Products from local communities in central Vietnam, to produce natural products such as shampoo from the seedpods of the black locust tree, and cleaning products from soap nuts. This provides a valuable source of additional income for rural communities and helps to protect the natural forest where the NTFPs grow.
 
In recognition of its positive contribution to sustainable development, in April 2022 the business won the New Generation Plantations (NGP) Origination Prize at a multi-stakeholder platform meeting for sustainable business activities in the Central Annamites, funded by the Landscape Resilience Fund and Dutch Fund for Climate & Development.
 
On 25-26th May, with support from WWF Viet Nam and MCNV, Nhien Thao signed a contract with a group of 105 local ethnic minority women in a remote area in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province, to agree to buy NTFPs such as black locust, soap nuts, wild lemon and pomelo, and a second contract to purchase bamboo products from FSC-certified natural forests managed by local communities. Nhien Thao will also provide training on how to sustainably collect and process these NTFPs.