Suoi Giang Agricultural Cooperative, development of a sustainable PSS for rural Vietnam

Abstract

The Suoi Giang community is a mountainous area situated about 250 kilometers from Hanoi, the capitol of Vietnam. In Suoi Giang, about 2700 people live divided over 8 villages. 98% of the population belongs to the H'mong minority. Within Suoi Giang, about 50% of the people live of an income of 20 US Dollar a month or less. Besides this, the level of education is low. Agriculture is the only form of income generated by the people. SPIN Asia, together with a tea distributor in Suoi Giang is introducing a set of zero-waste products that combined aim to improve the economic position of the H'mong people. This project is aimed to explore the opportunities of the development of a product-service system (PSS) of these products, in order to make this introduction even more effective. Throughout the report, the development of this PSS is visualized, as well as the business development that surrounds this PSS. Consequently, an implementation strategy is developed in order to guide the introduction of this PSS in a way that is most effective in terms of sustainable development for both the end-users and the other stakeholders involved.