Bac Son is next to Nam Son Solid Waste Treatment Complex which is the garbage collection of Hanoi city and nearby areas, therefore, many households earn a living as the garbage collectors. Their income mostly depends on what they scavenged from the landfill. This potentially dangerous work has been with people in Bac Son for over 10 years, many people got disease of skin infections, open wound and respiration. Seem to have no choice, people are afraid of regarding garbage collecting as their job.

People in Bac Son were happy when receiving the gifts

By hoping that herbal soap will help poor households to protect themselves from the danger of toxic waste and to reduce their expenses on buying daily stuff, Don Hau’s young business owner - Vu Thi Thu Trang (25 years old) collaborated with Thriive Hanoi, giving away their soap products to to 20 poor households in Bac Son. The giveaway event took place at People’s Committee of Bac Son commune with the attendance of local authorities. Previously, with the support of Thriive Hanoi, the company was able to buy two more machines worth nearly $8700. Then, together, Don Hau and Thriive Hanoi started to research the market and built up the company forward creating positive social impacts. So far, the company has paid back the debt for Thriive through vocational training and product donations.

 

Herbal hand wash soap and herbal soap - Don Hau Company’s products

As a more than ten-year household scavenging, Mrs. Vu Thi Ha said: “Our hands have always been stinky and harmed by exposing to garbage for long time, Sometimes, picking up broken pieces of porcelain cut our hands and cause disease infection. Receiving Don Hau company‘s soap make us very happy because of their sharing, they are small gifts but great valuable to us. I would like to thank Don Hau Co. Ltd, Ms Trang and Thriive”.

 

Don Hau Co.Ltd is one of Thriive Project’s 2016 businesses in Hanoi, Vietnam the project of interest-free loans and repayment to the community. Their previous repayment activity is giving the gifts of soap for poor households not having good body sanitary condition at some villages in Bac Ninh. Besides, Don Hau also offered free vocational training courses and jobs with a stable salary to 16 people. Speaking about the sponsorship of Thriive Hanoi, Ms Trang expressed her gratitude and wishing more businesses could approach the capital of Thriive for a fair development society with job and satisfying living for everyone.

 

Ms Vu Thi Thu Trang shared: “Graduating from Foreign Trade University, I don’t have much expertise in cosmetic, but with love for grass, flowers, I have studied, researched and produced herbal soap making from gleditsia, holy basil and some essential oils. In 2016, when formally establishing Don Hau Cosmetic Company Limited, I determined to do business with social responsibility. Although the company’s profit is not much but we still maintained regularly product donation activities, vocational training for poor households. I also want to send my sincere thanks to Thriive Ha Noi for your all your support in the last 2 years.”

In the near future, the company is intending to expand production, maintain the cooperation with Thriive Hanoi and launch into the market some new products from herbs. In addition, we will continue to offer free vocational training to people with special needs and create jobs for them, especially women and young workers.