BUSINESS MODEL
SOCIOVIPEP VIDEO ROUND 2
SOCIOVIPEP VIDEO ROUND 1
Social challenge:
There are three main social beneficiaries that our project wants to focus on solving their problems.
The first one is pepper farmers in Ea H’Leo, Dak Lak province, Vietnam, especially conventional pepper farmers, who have to cope with two key challenges. The first issue is income: unstable due to the low pepper purchase price; the second is health: exposure to chemical pesticides for a long time due to the conventional farming method. The reason for this is that their mindset is fixed on traditional farming, so they are reluctant to change. Moreover, Organic-orientation pepper farmers are also stuck in problems. They want to convert to organic farming but do not know how. Organic-converted pepper farmers do not have sound knowledge or aren’t assisted/ followed up, so problems are not solved on time, which may cause them to be impatient and go back to conventional methods.
The second beneficiary is the pepper customer. The problem they are having is using pesticide-exposed peppers, which are harmful to their health. They also have concerns about the product’s origin, which is usually ambiguous, and not guaranteed. The natural environment where Viet Pepper’s organic pepper farms are placed is also a beneficiary.
The third and final beneficiary is the environment. The environment has been heavily exposed to toxic chemicals used in conventional pepper farming methods, which cause water, air, and soil pollution.
Social solution:
Our project solution focuses on encouraging organic pepper farming and consuming. This solution, we believe, can solve the root cause of the problem and have a positive long term and sustainable impact on the social beneficiaries.
First of all, we provide the solution directly to the local community, to each and every farmer in the area, specifically Viet Pepper’s farmers, and not just to some representative focus groups. This way, we can locally customize our solution with specific local insights and practical demands by collecting data and interviewing directly with the local farmers.
Secondly, we organize a Mindset Breaking webinar and vocational education to improve first the farmers’ awareness and then their knowledge about organic farming, thus encouraging them to be ready for the application journey ahead. We make sure to closely follow up, and support farmers in their organic farming transformation to minimize the possible risks. We also build up a farmer community where they can learn from each other and grow together, which helps to increase the farmers’ proactive and grow-together mindset and then create a sustainable farmer community.
Moreover, Viet Pepper works directly with our farmers in the long run, omitting the middlemen. Thus, we can play the role of a trusted long-term partner to purchase farmers’ products at high and stable prices. Apart from Viet Pepper, our solution aims for a strong network and collaboration with many other kinds of stakeholders, namely agricultural experts, financial funding stakeholders, and so on. With such comprehensive support, our solution could be more complete and effective.
Ultimately, our planned field trip for university students is set up to build a win-win bond between different people; in the long term, it may set up a firm foundation for the continuous development of the growing organic pepper industry in particular and even agriculture sustainability in general