About Us
The Society
Baiyue Tea Society is a tea membership organization working with local tribes in North Vietnam. Many of these tribes have been living and harvesting tea in this region since 1000 BCE. Our society aims to help them create means of sustainable livelihoods while promoting their unique cultural heritage.
Ancient Tea Mountain Range of Baiyue Tribes
Covering an area of 7,929.48 km2, the mountain range is the most northern point of Vietnam, and often named the countries final frontier.
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The Baiyue tea community comprises of many different ethnic minority groups working in the ancient tea mountain ange. Due to its high altitude, tea grown here drastically differs from low altitude tea, in both the quality of tea and the way its harvested.
A Society at Risk
Impact on Ha Giang's People
As a company buys the land fit for tea harvesting, it cuts prices, forcing local tea harvesters out of business. The result? Farmers must work longer for the company at low wages, often less than $10 / day.
Impact on the Land
Instead of harvesting naturally from the forest, corporations will clear cut the mountain to make way for tea plants. Often, natural trees like the dragon tea tree will be cut down and stripped instead of naturally harvested
A Voice of Change
The Baiyue Community is engaging companies head on to keep the power in the hands of the farmers in 3 ways.
Higher Wages
Our partnership with local harvesters provides them with a significantly larger share of tea profits.
Sustainable Farming
All tea varieties grown are hand picked within the natural biodiversity of the mountain.
Teaching the Next Generation
We run a classroom at Baiyue Tea's home base to teach students English, leadership, and traditional tea growing and processing techniques.
Without the hard work of our talented locals and generations of experience, the Baiyue Tea Society would not be what it is today.
Learn about our teams and their important roles below
