The Camelia Economy

When I first returned to our family plantations in Bảo Lộc Vietnam, as a fourteen-year old, I was given a handful of tea seeds by my late grandmother. Returning to Australia, I managed to pass border security and bring in these seeds undetected.

From the seeds that I smuggled into this country, my mum and aunty managed to propagate a line of tea plants and seedlings which they continue to swap and trade with family friends and neighbours; maintaining a culture of storytelling, care and entrepreneurship that has helped them survive both war and political exile.