Higher Standard of Living Due to Skills Learned
As this successful program wraps up, Mrs. Minh, her husband and their two girls are confident that the work they do to raise chickens, ducks and goats will continue to improve living conditions on their small five-acre farm.
Mrs. Minh has been an active participant in the program since Mennonite Central Committee began supporting area residents with community development funds and agricultural training. She is a resourceful woman and learned as much as she could about raising livestock.
Before they joined the program, the family invested in a pair of goats to generate additional income, but their lack of expertise meant the animals often fell ill. They were selected as participants, and the program’s veterinary staff taught them useful skills to keep the animals well. They also received a pair of nannies, and their successful husbandry has been rewarded: they now have a herd of nine healthy goats.
Since 2014, the program has worked with the residents of two communes located in the mountains of Northern Vietnam. The community members are mainly ethnic minorities who had been displaced by the establishment of a national park. The program has supported a variety of agricultural activities, including improved planting and animal husbandry skills, and building communal irrigation systems to increase food security. The improvement in farming practices has led to increased food production. Participants learned better approaches to natural resource management, obtained greater yields from their rice and tea production, and increased their incomes through a variety of initiatives. Despite some setbacks because of the global pandemic, participants are grateful for all they have been able to accomplish, and feel they have a good foundation of knowledge on which to build.
Vietnam Tan Son Program
Led by Mennonite Central Committee and Tan Son District People’s Committee