Every month Viori's sustainability team visits Longsheng to spend time with our friends in the village and get an update on our local Beautiful Reason Initiatives. Below is a recap of the trip we made in March/April 2023.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun sets on another beautiful day in the rice terraces, we find ourselves in awe of the tireless dedication of the farmers Viori partners with in the heart of Longsheng. These days mark the annual transplanting of rice seedlings into the watered rice terraces, a task that demands delicate precision within a limited timeframe. The more we delve into the world of Longsheng's farming community, the more our admiration for their care of the land and crops continues to grow.

To provide you with a recap of our partnership with the rice farmers of Longsheng: At Viori, we take great pride in our collaboration with these hardworking farmers. We play a supportive role in the operation of their cooperative, providing essential mentorship, covering administrative costs, and more. Beyond that; we pay a 2x markup for the rice and purchase it pre-harvest, providing the villagers with an added layer of economic security. Additionally, we are working closely with the farmers' cooperative to help them achieve organic certification, an undertaking that includes covering the certification costs and assisting them in implementing the stringent on-site requirements. We'll delve deeper into this journey in a later blog post.

With each growing season, our relationship with the farmers deepens; the soil in which the all-natural rice is grown becomes healthier, the rice attains higher quality, which all eventually means more high-quality rice going into making our beloved rice water. Here's to the future and the continued partnership with these remarkable farmers who truly are the backbone of our mission.