The Thien Luong Traditional Medicine Forest Garden Model: Remarkable Changes in the Process of Sustainable Forest Design

Thien Luong Traditional Medicine was founded by physician Dinh Thi Song Nga, Director of Nam Thang Long Company Limited – a business specialising in the formulation and production of traditional Vietnamese and Chinese medicine in Ha Nam Province. With the mindset of a physician who wishes to bring high-quality herbal products to users and to care for consumers' health, Thien Luong Traditional Medicine always places itself in the consumers' perspective, and therefore consistently puts product quality standards first.

In particular, over the past two years, Thien Luong Traditional Medicine has begun implementing a forest garden project, with the aim of improving the soil, increasing the yield of medicinal herbs as well as organic vegetables, and moving towards a safe and sustainable form of agriculture.

On 20 May 2022, after nearly two years of advising on the design of the Thien Luong Traditional Medicine forest garden, the sustainable agriculture consultants at the GreenHub Centre for Supporting Green Development made a visit to the Thien Luong Traditional Medicine forest garden and were greatly surprised by the rapid transformation of the garden. With the dedicated guidance of consultant Duong Tran Anh Tuan, together with the enthusiasm, passion, and desire to bring consumers clean products through sustainable agriculture, Ms Song Nga has made remarkable progress in the process of building and designing a multifunctional forest garden.

“When we received consultant Tuan's advice, we found the methods to be very effective and intelligent, such as the way of combining plants for the forest garden so that they are suitable, from planting pioneer species to the main crops. In addition, we also came to understand and design the garden so that plants can live in symbiosis with one another based on their similar biological characteristics, such as their photosynthesis process or root systems. Together, these create a forest garden model that mimics nature in the best possible way. Furthermore, consultant Tuan also advised us on how to retain water for the forest garden so that the water source is not wasted to the outside, as well as on very special animal husbandry methods such as the mobile chicken coop – which helps control weeds and enrich the soil with nutrients.” – Ms Song Nga shared.

With her enthusiasm and readiness to take action for change, Ms Song Nga wishes to send a message to those working in farming, building farms, and creating forest gardens:

“If you practise agriculture using unsustainable inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilisers, you will easily fall out of balance in managing the income and expenditure of your garden. If you apply forest gardening, make use of natural processes, and find ways for plants to live in symbiosis with one another, you will reduce your input costs and increase the quality and yield of your crops in a sustainable way.”

We invite you to follow the sustainable agriculture consultants at GreenU on a visit to the Thien Luong Traditional Medicine forest garden, to learn about the remarkable changes in the process of designing and building an organic forest garden model that spreads the values of healthy, sustainable living!