Located about 6 km from Hoan Kiem Lake, Vuon Nha Ba, a two-hectare garden, sits along the Red River in Thanh Tri ward. Nguyen Ngoc Linh, the garden's owner, shared that her biggest desire is to develop a model for young children. "I want to create a place where children can experience, plant trees with their own hands, and harvest, something they can hardly do in the city", she said.

The idea for the garden began with the simple wish to create a warm space for her employees living away from home, making them feel like they were returning to their hometown. However, Linh soon realized that not only her employees but also urban children were most "disadvantaged" by the lack of rural experiences. Consequently, in 2023, Vuon Nha Ba was established, evolving into a larger mission: to become an educational and recreational destination for families and schools.

The garden is unique, preserving fruit trees over 20 years old. Currently, it features over 100 longan trees and nearly 100 pomelo trees, yielding tens of tons of fruit annually. Additionally, a fertile alluvial vegetable garden thrives with seasonal produce such as cabbage, kohlrabi, tomatoes, and bitter melon. Linh noted that the garden is also preparing to plant strawberries and will have a seasonal mushroom growing area, promising new experiences for visitors.

Operating such an ecological space presents significant challenges. Linh stated that maintaining the garden's pristine condition requires substantial effort, with a team of 40 staff members, half of whom specialize in plant and landscape care. Moreover, its riverside location means the garden constantly faces the risk of damage from storms and floods. "Every time we face a natural disaster, we learn more about how to protect the garden better", she confided.

Families visit and hand-feed goats.

A highlight of Vuon Nha Ba is its applied circular economy model. Linh established a closed-loop process where organic waste is repurposed into resources. Manure from the goat pen is composted for plant fertilization; leftover food and spoiled vegetables are processed by black soldier fly larvae, which then become a nutrient-rich food source for poultry.

This approach is not only an environmental solution but also a vivid, hands-on lesson for children about sustainable agriculture.

Vuon Nha Ba is more than just a scenic spot. Here, families and children immerse themselves in rural activities and agricultural culture. A prominent activity involves learning to paddle a basket boat.

Additionally, the fish pond is a favorite play area for children. Urban children, for the first time, hold small bags of feed and scatter them onto the water.

Many children are eager to hand-feed the fish swimming in the pond.

Not far away, a small stream, safely designed, flows with clear, cool water over pebbles. This is where children can take off their shoes, roll up their pants, and enjoy wading and playing in the water.

The garden also provides tents for families' picnic needs.

With a service fee of 50.000 VND for adults and 30.000 VND for children, families can freely explore, play, and participate in practical activities such as picking fruit and harvesting vegetables.

Visitors also have the opportunity to savor the local specialty, Thanh Tri rolled cake, a way to preserve and promote traditional culture.

In the future, Nguyen Ngoc Linh will continue to develop children-focused activities. "We will organize more tree-planting festivals, so children can plant a potato or strawberry plant themselves, then return to harvest their own results".

According to Linh, Vuon Nha Ba transcends a personal business venture, opening a potential direction for developing green spaces in large cities. Amidst rapid urbanization, this peri-urban experiential agricultural model exemplifies the transition from pure agriculture to agriculture combined with services and tourism.

This not only generates new economic value for agricultural land and preserves green spaces but also addresses urban residents' "thirst" for nature and hands-on experiences. This is not only a sustainable business approach but also a meaningful solution, contributing to nurturing a love for nature and traditional values for future generations.

Thanh Thu

Photos: Tung Dinh