Bringing macadamia to high mountains

A pioneer in education and agricultural models

It is not only the H’Mong people in Suoi On Village but also many H’Mong residents in other villages of Kim Bon Commune, a particularly disadvantaged commune in Son La Province, who admire Vang A U for his vision beyond the mountains.

More than 30 years ago, when he was in primary school, only seven children in the entire village attended school. When he attended lower secondary school at Gia Phu Ethnic Minority Boarding School, he had to walk 14 km along forest trails, where even pack horses could not travel. At that time, only two children from the entire village were attending school.

By the time he attended upper secondary school in Phu Yen Town, he was the only person from the village still pursuing his education, even though he was already married. After graduating from high school, he worked as an office staff at the Kim Bon Commune People's Committee. Some time later, he enrolled in an in-service agricultural training program, hoping to find ways to help his villagers escape poverty.

In 2004, Vang A U was elected by local residents as Chairman of the Kim Bon Commune People’s Committee. At the time, Kim Bon was a highland locality whose population was mainly H’Mong, most of whom were illiterate and living in poverty. Faced with the widespread practice of slash-and-burn farming to grow maize and arrowroot, which depleted soil fertility and water resources after each crop, U mobilized local residents in 2011 to participate in the KFW7 reforestation project, which provided pine seedlings. The project was an ODA-funded forestry development initiative financed by the German Government through the German Development Bank (KfW).

Although the project provided seedlings, fertilizer, and rice for food for three years, with residents only required to contribute their labor to planting, few initially supported it. U and other local officials repeatedly persuaded residents to join, eventually securing the participation of six villages: Suoi On, Dan A, Dan B, Kim Bon, and Suoi Pa. After several years, they had planted 88 ha of pine, creating a beautiful forest at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters.

Seeing that growing maize and rice provided his villagers with enough food for only one crop a year, U began looking for a crop that could be planted once and deliver higher, more sustainable economic efficiency. In 2014, after hearing that Dak Lak province was trialing macadamia, a new crop, he immediately sold a buffalo to cover the cost of traveling there and conduct a thorough study, from soil and climate conditions to sources of seedlings. Seeing that the climate there was cool and similar to that of his hometown, U became convinced that macadamia could also be grown in Kim Bon.

In 2015, U sold 12 buffaloes and 15 cows to buy an excavator. He taught himself how to operate the machine to build contour lines for planting 2 ha of macadamia on a mountain peak at the entrance to Suoi On Village. He also encouraged seven other households in the village to join the model. At first, everyone was hesitant. U told them that he would invest in building the contour lines and provide the seedlings, while the households would contribute their land and labor. Once the macadamia was harvested, the proceeds would be divided equally, 50/50.

The results were positive. Nearly 100% of the macadamia trees survived initially. However, in the third and fourth years, whirlwinds broke and killed about 30% of the trees, requiring them to be replanted. By the sixth year, the orchard produced its first harvest, with nut yields reaching over 200 kg/ha.

At that time, U roasted the macadamia nuts himself and shared them with officials from the commune and district for tasting. Everyone praised their aroma, flavor, and rich, buttery taste and asked to buy them. He sold the nuts for VND 80,000/kg but still could not meet demand. Currently, Suoi On macadamia nuts are consistently sold out, even as yields and output continue to increase year after year.

In 2025, U earned VND 157 million from his family's 2-ha macadamia orchard. He also received an additional VND 75 million as his share of the proceeds under the 50/50 cooperation agreement with other households, in return for his investment in seedlings and contour-line construction.

One generation plants, the next carries it forward

After seeing Vang A U and several other pioneering households successfully grow macadamia and achieve fairly good economic efficiency, many local residents followed the model. A total of 32 ha has now been planted, concentrated in Suoi On, Suoi Kenh, Suoi Vach, and Suoi Buong villages. Of this area, 12 ha are already producing, with promising yields and economic returns.

At this point, U and his son agreed that they needed to establish a cooperative to proactively link for product consumption, follow a common technical process from seedlings to fertilizers, generate a large and consistent volume of products, and move toward processing and higher value. In November 2020, Anh Xen Agricultural Cooperative was established in Suoi On Village, Kim Bon Commune, with seven members. Vang A Xen, U's son, serves as the Director of the Cooperative.

"Growing macadamia requires a fairly large initial investment, but in subsequent years, we only need to clear weeds three times and apply fertilizer twice a year. It is relatively easy to manage and brings fairly good economic returns," Vang A U explained.

Most of U’s assets, including a newly built house worth around VND 1.5 billion and a car recently bought for nearly VND 1 billion, were accumulated from agricultural income, with macadamia among the key sources. The significance of macadamia growing becomes even clearer when viewed against the backdrop of a highland village like Suoi On. Of its 233 households, 46 are poor and 27 are near-poor, while more than 200 workers have had to leave their hometown to work as factory laborers in other provinces. In 2025, the Government's support programs finally managed to eliminate just two temporary houses in the village.

Next to U’s macadamia orchard is an over-1-ha orchard owned by Vang A Lu, Head of Suoi On Village. Lu also planted macadamia in 2015 and now earns an average income of VND 70–80 million/crop.

"Macadamia can withstand cold weather. Moreover, unlike maize and cassava, it does not have to be replanted every year. I have hardly seen any pests or diseases either. To protect the environment and ensure nut quality, I decided not to use herbicides and only clear the weeds mechanically," Lu shared.

Macadamia is a nut-bearing crop native to the tropical rainforests of northeastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland, Australia. Although originating in Australia, macadamia is now widely cultivated in many parts of the world, including Viet Nam, and is well suited to highland areas with cool climates such as the Central Highlands and the Northwest region.

$1 = VND 26,460 - Source: Vietcombank.