Bach Thong (Bac Kan) – The fulcrum for poor communities to rise

The delegation of the project with representatives of Bread for the World visited Na Ca village, My Thanh commune

In phase 1 of 2022, Na Lau village, Tan Tu commune is supported in building the net house to grow safe/clean vegetables and melons. The model has not only increased income but also changes the mindset and methods of production for local farmers, especially women. After that, the project supported improving the canal to irrigate Na Tang fields, make Coc Sau intra-field roads, and another 200m village road.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lam, Head of Na Lau village shared: "Since the project was implemented, people in the village have been very excited because many village works have been done and the income of households has improved. Especially, the role and voices of women are enhanced when participating in the selection and implementation of models and projects".

As one of 6 villages of Nguyen Phuc commune that participated in the Bread for the World funded project, Ngoan village quickly established a key group to participate in training courses. Ms. Dinh Thi Sinh, Head of Ngoan village in Nguyen Phuc commune, said: "We have never done a project as the manager before. But when participating in the project, we learned from the project and discussed with the village to choose and develop the sub-project for constructing a road with a budget of VND 150 million. After determining the goals, the key community members of the village made an estimation and implementation plan. On the one hand, we surveyed for materials, hired machines, and on the other hand mobilized people to join hands."

The village road, which is more than 300m long, was quickly built and completed. Following that success, Ngoan village was then supported to build an irrigation system for the safe/clean apricot planting project. Once again, the people in the village united to implement it.

After more than 1 year of implementation (from October 2021 to November 2022), phase 1 of the project has 10 beneficiary villages, of which Tan Tu commune has 4 villages and Nguyen Phuc has 6 villages with a total budget of nearly VND 5 billion. As a result, 37 sub-projects have been implemented, including 32 sub-projects on small infrastructure, and 5 sub-projects on sustainable agricultural development. Specifically, the project has helped poor ethnic minority communities concrete nearly 3,600m of roads, expand and gravel 735m of roads, build more than 3,500m of irrigation canals, and 5 dams, and install more than 1,600m of water pipes... The implemented constructions and models have a positive impact on the socio-economic life of nearly 3,500 people in ethnic minority areas. There are 43ha of rice cultivation areas of 10 project villages that have increased productivity by an average of 10% per season; the people of Khuoi Boc village, Nguyen Phuc commune, and Na Ban village, Tan Tu commune are no longer isolated every rainy season thanks to the sub-project of road construction and bridge erection; environment-friendly agricultural models contribute to generating income for local people, especially women. This is a good and practical project that supports poor communities to rise up against the odds. The project also contributes to strengthening rural infrastructure in the new rural development program.

Dao Kien

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