Whenever coffee of the Central Highlands gets mentioned, Trung Nguyen, Buon Me or Mehyco coffee is thought of. Besides the above names, there are other ones which are able to conquer connoisseurs of coffee. Minh An is among such brand names.
On a rainy day, I go to Dak Mil on a business trip. During talks about coffee, people living here are very proud to talk about their own speciality – Minh An-Duc Lap coffee which is a product of the co-operative economic model. With curiosity, I find the way to Minh An co-operative house right on that day.
Head of the co-operative house, Mr Nguyen Van Toan, who is of slender build and has a friendly smile, takes me for a trip around Minh An’s property. I ask him what Minh An has done to bring Duc Lap coffee brand name to such a tight market as the EU. He shares that it originates in the determination to turn Dak Mil’s coffee into a product of high quality, a unique specialty of the district.”
To that end, human resource and technique reforms are necessary. The technique to dry and grind coffee in the blast furnace which was invented by a member of the co-operative house, Minh An, helps its production be conducted in an uninterrupted and close cycle. Its product was granted with a certificate by National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam and awarded with a golden cup by Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) for WTO integration brand name, which is a pride of Minh An.
The co-operative house is fully aware “of the business culture that creates internal strength and immortality of the enterprise.” As such, attaching the business with the community’s benefits is one of important criteria to establish the enterprise’s culture. At Minh An, every member is provided with knowledge and practical skills to become “bosses” in Dak Mil. Minh An believes that good members create a good co-operative house.
Quality and prestige are what make many people in Dak Nong and all over the world know of Duc Lap coffee as a specialty of Dak Mil. In 2008-2009, Duc Lap-Dak Mil coffee received a lot of noble prizes.
But what is more important is that Minh An is becoming a pioneer in the economic co-operative house model, making more contribution to the industrialization process in rural areas in Dak Mil.
Hoang Hai
Vietnamese
