(VOVworld) – Nguyen Thi Chinh is director of the Mushroom and Bio-product Development and Research Center and the Lingzhi Mushroom Company. Her business success is largely due to the effective application of science and technology.

Chinh came up with a money-making idea when she was studying in the Czech Republic. During her stay in Europe, Chinh saw farmers use agricultural wastes to produce mushrooms. In Vietnam, these wastes were incinerated. Vietnam’s warm, humid climate is ideal for growing edible mushrooms. After graduating in 1973, Chinh became the first person to bring high-yield mushroom varieties from Europe to Vietnam. She planned to grow mushrooms from agricultural wastes. Chinh said: “I brought home several varieties of edible mushrooms. The materials for growing mushrooms can be sawdust, straw, and sugarcane leftovers. Growing mushrooms could be profitable for low-income people and idle farmers.”

In 1986, Chinh received a Czech patent for her research on growing oyster mushrooms using non-pasteurized micro-biological fermentation. Despite many invitations to work abroad, Chinh decided to return to Vietnam to popularize mushroom growing techniques. Oyster mushrooms are now grown in several provinces across Vietnam. Encouraged by her initial success, Chinh began to research medicinal mushrooms and became the first person in Vietnam to produce lingzhi fiber biomass, a project which earned her the Vietnam Fund for Scientific and Technological Creations award (VIFOTECH) in 2002. Chinh won the Vietnam Women’s Prize in 2013 for her research on edible and medicinal mushroom growing techniques. Chinh said money from the prize will help her help more poor people with her project: “Our aim is to help poor people, particularly women, become better off. This year, our target is to help 50 women increase their monthly income from 25 USD to 150 USD. They will either be employed to work in our company or receive instructions on growing mushrooms at home. This model will be replicated in other provinces.”

Chinh has been active in social activities and has used her success to support poor patients in many hospitals in Hanoi and adjacent areas. Nguyen Thi Van is one of her employees: “Chinh is very sociable and has great sympathy for poor patients. She’s given us a stable job to support our families.”