STORYTELLERS
LYNDAL HUGO PhD
DR. LYNDAL HUGO is an Australian who completed both her Agricultural Science degree and PhD at The University of Sydney. The focus of her PhD and subsequent Post-Doctoral research was contamination of the environment and food supply chain with pesticide residues.
After 10 years in consulting in food and agriculture, Dr Hugo moved to analysis and abatement of greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors including industry, agriculture and mining.
In 2017 Dr Hugo took off to Vietnam with US $20k and a bicycle to build Orlar. In the last six years an astounding number of incredible women, most importantly her wife Amanda Cornelissen, have joined her on her mission to create the most affordable residue free food for the people of Vietnam.
The technology is now being licenced globally due to the fact it uses approximately 1% of the energy of other agtech.
Whilst the $20k went very quickly, the bicycled has endured. What a ride!
THACH THI CHAL THI
THACH THI CHAL THI, of the Khmer ethnic minority in Tra Vinh, in the Mekong Delta is the founder of Sokfarm with the dream to bring coconut nectar around the world.
Chal Thi graduated with a Master's degree in Food Technology from Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City. She combines a ‘farmer's love of the homeland with a passion for processing agricultural products’, which has turned into Sokfarm.
Sokfarm means “Happy Agriculture”, with the desire to increase economic value and improve the livelihoods for coconut farmers in Tra Vinh. Sokfarm aim to become a leading enterprise in the coconut nectar processing industry in Vietnam, creating 100% purely natural and healthy coconut nectar products for consumers.
They operate sustainably from the raw material area to the production procedure, and from the relationships with farmers and partners. Their core values are: creativity, sustainability, and community-based. The idea of producing products from the coconut nectar brand Sokfarm was born in early 2018, when dried coconuts in Tra Vinh province fell dramatically, at one time 1200 coconuts only cost 2 million VND.
Concerned by these difficulties, Chal Thi had the idea of developing coconut nectar products from Vietnams 2nd largest coconut region. Different from other crops, coconut trees can adapt to saltwater intrusion.
Coconut trees can tolerate 4-10% salinity, which makes them highly adaptable to current climate change.
The model of growing coconuts for honey has created a new direction for the Tra Vinh coconut industry; it has increased economic value for farmers by 3-5 times, has developed new, high quality product lines from indigenous people and contributes to improving local livelihoods and the development of the Khmer’s
traditional occupations.
CURATOR
Irene Öhler - Founder of Lightpath Leadership, is passionate about leadership development and women's empowerment. Irene has more than 20 years of international experience in HR development, having worked with Fortune 500 corporates and governments in Europe, China, Brazil, New Zealand, and Vietnam as an executive coach and consultant, Her mission is to ignite leadership and support organizations to nurture talent, through executive coaching and delivery of programs designed especially for female executives.
Since her arrival in Vietnam in 2012, Irene has become a sought-after expert in Vietnam for her work to promote women's leadership. she is the co-author of a best-selling book on Vietnamese women leaders, Ba Trieu's 21st Century Daughters, Stories of Remarkable Vietnamese Women. She also curates the unique live event series, the Women's Storytelling Salon in Hanoi and HCMC.
Since 2014, Irene has organized almost 30 Women's Storytelling Salons in Hanoi, HCMC as well as tailored SALONS for Flinders University's Women's Leadership Development Programmes.
