Vietnam International Women’s Coffee Alliance Social Company
Introduced to Son La Province in 1945, over 70 years, coffee has become an important economic tree in Son La – one of Vietnam’s main Arabica coffee-growing regions. Coffee trees have helped local residents, especially Taidam ethnic groups, to have a stable livelihood and increase their household income.
In recent years, Son La province has been implementing policies to ensure the sustainable development of coffee. In addition to building a plan for growing areas, the local authority also focuses on applying science and technology to cultivation and production in order to improve productivity and quality, as well as establishing a supply chain with cooperatives, dealers, and coffee producers. This helps to create an enclosed cycle to ensure the livelihoods of farmers, thus enhancing the value of Son La coffee’s brand identity in the domestic and international markets.
Son La Arabica coffee is appreciated for its quality and natural flavor. With fruity aroma and bittersweet taste, Son La Arabica coffee has now been protected as a geographical indication and has become one of the key products of the program One Commune One Products (OCOP), thus bringing high economic value and affirming a solid position on the world coffee map.
With a network of more than 140 female farmers in the coffee growing area in Mai Son district, Son La province, IWCA Vietnam has been gradually implementing activities to build capacity, and improve knowledge and skills for female farmers, thus motivating them to stick with coffee trees and ensure family livelihoods in the long term.