This is part of the efforts to realise the Dao people's desire to popularise the value of medicinal plants, and used products from medicinal plants to cure diseases and uplift healthcare quality for the people.

Thong has cherished her dream of starting a business with medicinal plants for a long time. She was taught by her grandmother to make herbal medicines.

Through market research, Thong found that the demand for herbal medicine is increasing, but medicine sellers in the market are mostly retailers.

To develop products, along with natural medicinal materials, Thong and her co-workers have planted medicinal plants in unused land areas.

Medicinal plants are easy to live, less susceptible to pests and diseases, so there is no need to use chemical substances in the growing process.

In the past, the Dao people used fresh or dried plants for making medicines, or cooked for bathing or drinking, but now medicinal plants are preliminarily processed into dry medicine, ointments, drops, poultices and powder, which are easy to use and preserve, Thong said.

To expand the market and approach more consumers, Thong introduces products to medicine bathing businesses, pharmaceutical companies, drug stores, and wholesale markets and on social networks.

Despite many difficulties, Thong still exerts efforts to develop products from medicinal plants. She said that this helps not only increase incomes for my family, but also preserve precious medicinal plants and create more jobs for local people, contributing to promoting poverty reduction and economic development in the locality.