Saigon Naturally

motorbike collision with a joy rider in District 4; Arlene spent several weeks in hospital and the Fasts decided to hire local drivers.

Organik grows Word spread and by 2005, Organik employed a team of ten delivery persons making 100 deliveries every Tuesday. At the same time, Organik Dalat became the first farm in Vietnam to obtain EurepGAP certification, allowing them to export vegetables to Europe. It took several years to find the right location, but by 2007, Organik had expanded exponentially on a new wholly-owned four-hectare farm of clean land in a picturesque valley. In 2008 John built the online shop, remarkably his first experience with web design at an age when his peers would more likely be resting on their laurels and settling into retirement.

Organik‘s retail point in Thao Dien opened in 2009 and today offers organic vegetables, seafood and rice, free range eggs, chicken, and pork - all from Vietnam - as well as selected imported vegetables and fruits, and groceries from trusted labels like Eden Foods. The farm and shop currently employs about 40 people, as well as working in cooperation with many local farmers, and sells its vegetables in Vietnam to individual consumers, five star hotels, restaurants, cruise ships and catering companies, as well as for export.

Organic in Vietnam Elevated, isolated, and free from residual dioxin and other historical contaminants as well as most contemporary pollution, “Dalat is a special place,” Arlene explains.

With plenty of clean air, water and soil, she sees the real challenge of achieving organic in Vietnam in maintaining the rigorous procedural standards organic farming requires in tandem with creativity. To this end, she attributes her business partner, Dr. Hung, Organik’s problem-solver and process manager, as the critical component. Dr. Hung earned a PhD in vegetable genetics from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research and has carefully shepherded the farm’s operations from its beginning.

There is presently no Vietnamese national certifying body for organic production and the Organik farm has not been certified “organic” by external organizations. Under the care Fall 2011 | Saigon Naturally | 21