Due to a drop in dragon fruit sales caused by the pandemic, Vietnam was suddenly forced to deal with considerable amounts of unsold fruit, with an initial plan of simply burning it. Quynh Anh (Dorothy), Uyen and Huyen had already been thinking of a project linked to making more eco-friendly menstrual pads - as they were virtually non-existent in the Vietnamese market - when Uyen learned about the absorbent properties of dragon fruit. This planted the seed for their Earth Prize project submission.

The three young women first met at an extra-curricular educational center and stayed friends despite the fact that Uyen and Dorothy lived in Ho Chi Minh City and Huyen in Hanoi.

Each of them brought forward their own abilities and interests in their application for The Earth Prize. Dorothy is a problem solver. She likes any challenge involving large-scale planning and hopes to pursue higher education in business with a special focus on social enterprises. Huyen wants to concentrate on finance, with the hope of starting her own company in the future. Uyen maintains her interest in the arts, as a classically trained musician, while still aspiring to a future career in computational biology, as she has always been curious about the intersection between computer science and biology.

These bright young women expressed humility, disclosing that they never expected to be included in the final round of the competition. “It is daunting to apply when you come from such a small country,” Dorothy said. But participating in The Earth Prize has rightly boosted their confidence and they stand proud that the quality of their idea speaks for itself.