IMEXCO and UNESCO Promote the Preservation of Vietnam’s Tea Culture
Table of Contents
The “From Tea Leaves to Heritage – A Cultural Pathway towards Sustainable Development” event series, held in Da Lat on July 4–5, 2025, marked the opening activity of a broader cooperation project between Imexco Vietnam Trading Joint Stock Company (IMEXCO) and UNESCO for the 2025–2029 period.
Beyond preserving the cultural values associated with Vietnamese tea, the initiative seeks to create greater benefits for local communities by connecting heritage with production, livelihoods, tourism, and responsible consumption. In this context, Vietnamese tea culture is approached not only as a tradition to be preserved, but also as a resource that can contribute to long-term sustainable development.
IMEXCO and UNESCO Launch a 2025–2029 Cooperation Initiative
The Da Lat event marked the beginning of the project “Enhancing Benefits for Local Communities through Strengthened Partnerships for Heritage Conservation and Sustainable Practices,” jointly implemented by IMEXCO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from 2025 to 2029.
The project aims to improve opportunities and benefits for local communities, with particular attention to small businesses, women, and workers, by linking cultural heritage preservation with local production value chains and broader development priorities.
Activities are being implemented in Hanoi, Lam Dong, Moc Chau, as well as locations associated with UNESCO-recognized heritage, including Phong Nha–Ke Bang.
A key aspect of the initiative is its approach to heritage as part of a living economic and social environment. Rather than treating cultural preservation as a separate objective, the project explores how heritage can contribute to livelihoods, local production, and community development.
From Vietnamese Tea Culture to a Resource for Community Development
Tea has long been embedded in Vietnamese life, from everyday customs and social interaction to local knowledge, collective memory, and regional identity.
Behind each tea product lies more than a growing area or production process. There are generations of cultivation experience, processing techniques, tea-drinking practices, and cultural knowledge that continue to shape the identity of tea-growing communities.
As markets and production models evolve, however, traditional tea villages face increasing challenges in maintaining some of these practices and forms of indigenous knowledge. Heritage conservation therefore requires more than preserving what already exists. It also requires conditions that allow communities to continue practicing, developing, and benefiting from their cultural resources.
“From Tea Leaves to Heritage” reflects this perspective. The initiative also carries a longer-term ambition to develop a Tea Cultural Space as a potential candidate for future consideration for UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage lists.
This aspiration places cultural recognition within a broader framework in which community participation, economic opportunity, and sustainable development remain central.
Connecting Communities, Cultural Value and the Market
Founded in 2009, IMEXCO operates across four core areas: distribution, import and export, research and development, and consulting and investment. The company has also developed partnerships with a range of international corporations.
Alongside its commercial activities, IMEXCO is expanding its approach to sustainability through initiatives that connect market development with community interests and local cultural values.
The MAITE tea initiative is one example of this direction, bringing together the story of Vietnamese tea with heritage preservation, responsible production, and the interests of local communities.
At the event, IMEXCO Chairman Tran Manh Hao outlined the company’s commitment to encouraging more sustainable patterns of production and consumption, while strengthening consumer awareness of products and services associated with cultural value and environmental responsibility.
From UNESCO’s perspective, Jonathan Wallace Baker, Head of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam, emphasized the role of heritage as more than something to be protected. Heritage can also provide a foundation for community development. The cooperation with IMEXCO therefore seeks to support artisans, women, young people, and tea-growing communities in turning cultural knowledge into a meaningful resource for the future.
“Tea Tour” Extends the Tea Value Chain into Sustainable Tourism
Another significant development during the event series was the signing of a cooperation memorandum between IMEXCO and Saigontourist Travel Service Company Limited for the implementation of the “Tea Tour” project, witnessed by the Head of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam. The project is designed around a model in which tourism professionals, local product providers, and visitors become active and responsible participants in a cultural value chain rather than remaining separate actors in a conventional tourism experience.
By combining their respective capabilities, IMEXCO and Saigontourist aim to develop a sustainable tourism value chain connected with Vietnamese tea heritage. The initiative is intended to support cultural identity, enhance local economic value, and encourage more responsible consumption.
This approach also broadens the meaning of heritage-based tourism. Tea culture can be experienced not only through the final product, but also through tea-growing landscapes, local communities, craftsmanship, cultural spaces, and the stories that shape the identity of each tea region.
Building a Sustainable Ecosystem around Vietnamese Tea Heritage
The “From Tea Leaves to Heritage” program in Da Lat demonstrates an approach in which cultural preservation, local economic development, and corporate responsibility can be addressed within the same ecosystem.
Through its 2025–2029 cooperation with UNESCO and the subsequent development of the “Tea Tour” initiative, IMEXCO is contributing to efforts to connect Vietnamese tea culture more closely with communities, markets, and responsible development models.
The journey from a tea leaf to heritage is therefore not solely about preserving tradition. It is also about creating the conditions for communities to continue practicing, sharing, and developing their cultural values in ways that remain relevant to a changing economic and social environment.
Khám phá thêm về chuỗi sự kiện tôn vinh văn hóa trà Việt và hành trình hợp tác giữa IMEXCO và UNESCO qua các bài viết trên những cơ quan báo chí uy tín:
