Vietnam Ca-phe Project

These women are someone’s mothers, sisters, and daughters. Thanks to generations of the H’mông, Dao, Tày (and many more) tea pickers in the Northwest Vietnam, we are able to fill our days with pleasing cups of tea. Waking up before dawn when there’s still dew on leaves; trekking miles after miles into the rugged deep mountain forests, sometimes with babies on their backs is their daily grind. We don’t want to romanticize the life of a tea picker; we see the bright smiles but we also see age catches up to them, leaving marks on their faces. To many tea pickers and farmers, this profession is a mean of surviving and supporting their loved ones so getting to rest is a luxury.

📸 All photos belong to the book “Đắng Ngọt Chè Rừng” (Bittersweet Forest Tea), a part of Project Biotrade Vietnam. Photography by Vũ Ngọc Dũng.

1. From the top of Mount Ta Xua - Bac Yen, Son La
2. Tea picking, cloud chasing - Tay Con Linh, Ha Giang
3. The smile of Miss Ly Thi My after an arduous tea picking trip - Ta Cu Ty, Bac Ha
4. Jasmine flower field - Tam Duong, Lai Chau
5. Elder Mang Thi Co tells the ups and downs of her life over a cup of tea - Giang Pang, Sung Do, Yen Bai
6. Elder Chan Thi Sua in the Sa De Phin tea forest - Sin Ho, Lai Chau

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