Achieving financial success from products made from crocodile skin

​(News Portal – Dong Nai) - Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang and his wife Hoang Thi My Nhung are both teachers at Huynh Van Nghe Middle and High School in Phu Ly commune, Vinh Cuu district. They invested in raising crocodiles to improve their family's economy, but due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, commercial crocodiles encountered difficulties in output, making them decide to invest in processing products from crocodile skin.

Mrs. Hoang Thi My Nhung introduces products made from crocodile skin  

Currently, Ha Vy Crocodile Farm is supplying hundreds of product models made from crocodile skin to the market. The farm has become an attraction for tourists and customers from in and out of the province. This side business not only helps their family become financially stable, but also contributes to creating jobs for many local workers.

Investing in specialty farming

Over 10 years ago, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang and Mrs. Hoang Thi My Nhung invested in a crocodile farm. From small-scale farming, the farm earned quite a fortune, so they expanded the scale to tens of thousands of crocodiles. Mrs. Hoang Thi My Nhung said that raising crocodiles did not cost much labor, also a large number of crocodiles could be raised in a small enclosed area. In order to make a profit, farming techniques are very important so that crocodiles grow quickly, are less susceptible to diseases, and have lower loss rates. On average, the farm sells 1 batch of crocodiles, minus costs, and yields better profits than many other farming and breeding models.

Sharing about the reason the farm switched to investing in processing, Mrs. Nhung recalled that in 2019, the Covid-19 epidemic prevented crocodiles from being exported to the Chinese market. Not only her family but also local crocodile farmers could not sell them anywhere. The situation forced her to find a solution, so they considered making products from crocodile skin.

At the beginning, they encountered many challenges. Mrs. Nhung and her husband had to spend a lot of time researching from where to tan crocodile skin to experimenting with making products from crocodile skin. Crocodile skin is very thick, requiring advanced technology at each stage of the production. First, a piece of crocodile skin considered good when the crocodile is raised properly, and taken from a healthy crocodile. Tanned leather must be durable and beautiful, and sewing techniques also require more meticulousness and sophistication. The farm found a group of talented tailors with many years of experience sewing products from cow leather, so technical aspects are guaranteed. According to Mrs. Nhung: "In particular, the farm owner has to spend time mastering the techniques at the production stages in order to instruct and manage the production process of the workers. However, currently, the tanning of crocodile leather on the farm is not possible because the tanning process requires environmental treatment, so we must find a reputable tanning place to have crocodile leather materials of durable and beautiful quality."

When expanding the processing facility, the farm cooperated with a number of local crocodile-raising households to buy more crocodile skin. Because the farm is proactive in raising, processes, and techniques for producing crocodile leather products and also has a team of skilled workers, it can expand production scale when expanding the consumer market. 

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Ha Vy crocodile farm has more than 10 years of experience in raising crocodiles 

A diverse range of processed products

After 1 year of research and testing, Ha Vy crocodile farm began to introduce to the market its first products made from crocodile skin such as wallets, book baskets, belts... When the farm introduced its products to the market, it was a challenging period due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, so consumer shopping demand was also very limited.

According to Mrs. Nhung, in the past, products made from crocodile skin were expensive and were not popular with the buyers. But the products of Ha Vy crocodile farm were much more affordable than the general market because the farm was proactive from the raising up to the producing process. Therefore, when the farm first introduced its products to the market, it attracted many customers looking to buy. Products are sold in the form of aquatainces buying them to use and then gradually introducing them to their acquaintances and friends.

"With natural musk flavor", the farm's products made from crocodile skin are gradually becoming known in the market. To date, the farm has introduced hundreds of products to the market such as travel bags, suitcases, women's handbags, wallets, purses, shoes, sandals, belts... from crocodile skin. Thanks to good investment in after-sales, customers who order wholesale or retail products like book baskets or shoes to use for several years, the farm still accepts them to do sole repair, lock repair, free warranty... In particular, the farm is ready to welcome groups of tourists to visit the enclosures, the manufacturing process, and allowed to buy products directly from the production site. The farm also aims to invest in a lakeside camping resort, visit crocodile enclosures and allowed to buy products directly from the production site.

To build reputation and brand for products made from crocodile, Ha Vy crocodile farm has participated in the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program. Up to now, the farm has completed the procedures and documents for certification. The farm is also expanding its farming scale. At peak farming time, the farm's total crocodile number can be up to 10,000 crocodiles. Crocodiles are raised overlapping, so there is no need to worry about material shortage for processing. ​​