“The man may be the head, but the woman is the neck. The neck supports the head and without the neck, the head cannot move”. This is something my mother used to say and I had to think about it when I first arrived in Vietnam, a few years ago.

I flew from Amsterdam to Hanoi and had to wait until the following day to catch my flight to Dalat. Remembering the words of my mother, I decided to go to the Vietnamese Women Museum, the afternoon of my arrival. To be honest, I didn’t expect very much, but to my big surprise, it was one of the nicest museums I have ever seen. Apart from the attractive environment, I was most impressed to learn about the diversity, the endurance, and the energy of the Vietnamese women. And of course, because I am a flower man, I paid extra attention to the part of the exhibition of the woman selling flowers. Looking at the photos, I could imagine how it would be to wake up in the middle night, go to the market to buy flowers, and spend the whole day trying to sell them in the city. It tells something about the strength of these women who are doing that day in the day to make out a living. They do it with a smile that represents the beauty of the flowers they sell.

Apart from selling flowers, Vietnamese Women had a major role in the success of my company Dalat Hasfarm. From the foundation of Dalat Hasfarm 20 years ago, we have become the largest flour producer in South East Asia and for a great deal that is thanks to the women of Vietnam. From the 2200 people we employ, workers and staff, 70% is female. That percentage is even larger if we look at our customers. We estimate that over 90% of our customers are women! So, I am very happy to be here today at this place, and I would like to thank Ms. Bich Van and the Management of the Vietnamese Women Museum for the opportunity they have given Dalat Hasfarm to show our beautiful products. I also would like to give a special thanks to our long term friends and famous flower artists, Mr. Hung, as well as all the other flower artists for their support and for the amazing things they do with flowers.

And last but not least, I would like to thank all the customers of Dalat Hasfarm who buy our flowers and help us to beautify our world.

In the end, they are the neck that supports our head!

Thank you!