Case study_Existence: Culture, ecology and community development in Vietnam

The Centre for Human Ecology Studies of

Existence
Culture, ecology and community development
Summer 2001 Volume 1, Number 2

Focus on
Quang Binh:
 Forest land rights
 Farmer networking
 Ethnic minority
education

Existence is a quarterly newsletter of the Centre for Human Ecology Studies of Highlands
(CHESH), a
Vietnamese non-governmental organisation that works with ethnic minority farmers in the

Existence January 2001 1

The Centre for Human
Ecology Studies of
Highlands (CHESH) is a
member organisation of the
Vietnam Union of Science
Existence
Culture, ecology and community development
and Technology
Associations. Summer 2001 Volume 1, Number 2

CHESH is dedicated to In this issue
supporting ethnic minority
farmers in highland 4 Training for the future
Southeast Asia through The Centre for Community Capacity Development is developing a
farmer networking and new approach to ethnic minority education.
capacity building of local
NGOs. 8 Join the club
Key farmers in Quang Binh province build interest clubs as basis for
community development.
CHESH was founded in
1999 as an extension of
11 What good is a red book?
Towards Ethnic Women CIRD land allocation programme raises awareness — and questions.
(TEW), a national-level
Vietnamese NGO supporting 17 Gender and culture
farmer networking and TEW’s approach to working with women is described along with
village-level development details about a programme with ethnic Sinh Mun women in Son La.
projects. TEW has worked
in the highlands of Vietnam
since 1994.

Existence is a quarterly
newsletter outlining the
research and fieldwork of
CHESH, TEW and our field
offices in northern, central
and Central Highland areas
of Vietnam.

Contributions to Existence
are welcome. Contact us to
receive copies, but please
note that no subscriptions
are available at this time.
The newsletter is also
published in Vietnamese,
under the name Sinh Tån.

Tran Thi Lanh
editor
Duong Quang Chau
deputy editor
Michael L. Gray
managing editor

Existence
CHESH/TEW

2 Existence January 2001


This issue: focus on Quang Binh
W elcome to
t h e
second edition of
Exi stence, a
newsletter
devoted to
h i g h l a n d
devel opm ent
issues. As we did
in our first issue,
we will continue
here to describe
the results of
field work
initiated by
Towards Ethnic
Women and its
s i s t e r
or gan isation s
C HE S H and
CIRD.
One of TEW’s
early projects
was to set up a Often labelled together as the ‘Chut’ the ethnic groups in Quang Binh actually include the Sach,
field office in
Quang Binh province. This field CIRD has now registered as a separate organisation
offi c e, t h e Cen t r e for
In di gen ous Kn owl edg e and runs a training centre in Quang Binh.
Research and Development, has
now registered as a separate provide the credit and support developed in Yen Chau district,
organisation. In this issue, needed for farmers to increase where Bo Ngoi is located.
several stories will outline the production in these and other Finally, this issue will
impact CIRD has had on ethnic areas. A third story will provide a short update of events
minority communities in describe the model of credit in On Oc village, where
highland Quang Binh. delivery that CIRD has villagers are engaged in an
The first will describe the developed, based originally on ongoing effort to protect the
training centre that has been the model developed by another valuable forest which surrounds
built to allow ethnic minorities Vietnamese NGO called the their community. In the last
the opportunity to learn in a Rural Development Services i s su e, we d e s cr i bed a
familiar and comfortable Centre (RDSC). com m unit y r oad -bui lding
environment. The centre, called Finally, the impact of project which was effective in
CCCD, also provides young CIRD’s l a n d -use r i gh t s preventing outsiders from
staff members with the programme will be described by coming to cut the forest. Now,
opportunity to learn more about telling the story of how one Ma new pressures are emerging that
the different cultures of the Lieng village reacted when the villagers must face.
farmers they work with. outsiders cut trees in an area As always, we hope you find
The second story will contracted to the villagers. this issue informative. As TEW
describe CIRD’s experience This issue of Existence will and CHESH continue to grow,
with ‘interest groups,’ which are also describe one of TEW’s our work will take us to new
the village and commune-level earliest field programmes, in the and exciting areas. We hope in
farmer’s groups that organise Sinh Mun village of Bo Ngoi, in the next few issues to describe
activities in areas like gardening Son La province. As a result of the CHESH programme in Lao
and animal husbandry. One of this project, a very strong PDR, and outline our hopes for
CIRD’s main aims to is to network of women farmers has regional cooperation in other


Training for the future
CCCD develops new approach to minority education

Learning by doing: CCCD students immunise poultry.

W hen you stand on the
hill across from the
five wooden
buildings that make up the
like much more than a big farm.
But CCCD is not really a
farm. It’s a school, and a centre
where people from a range of
C C CD i s t h e t r a i n i n g
component of the Centre for
In di gen ous Kn owl edg e
Research and Development,
Centre for Community Capacity cultures come to work and CIRD, which runs development
Development, you would not learn. Maybe even this doesn’t programmes across Quang Binh
think you were looking at an make CCCD unique. Come a province. CCCD was started so
especially unique place. little closer, however, and meet that highland farmers would
In front of the buildings are the people. At CCCD you can have a place to meet and learn,
four large fish ponds, followed find women and men of all in a location that would be
by a garden now dominated by ages. Bright-eyed teenagers and familiar to them and offer them
acacia seedlings. On the right, a village elders. People from the a chance practice new skills
gentle slope drops down to a cities and people from the immediately.
small lake, and the slope is also mountains. Professionals with The Quang Binh People’s
covered with acacia. advanced degrees, and illiterate Committee supported the idea,
The buildings are large, open farmers learning how to read and allocated 14.2 ha of land
structures set in cement. Some and write. outside Dong Le town, Tuyen
already look old, while others What makes CCCD unique is Hoa district, for CIRD to build a
still have the fresh look of that all of these people have practical training centre for
recently cut wood. On most come together to learn from agroforestry and community
days, people mill about the each other, in an atmosphere development. Five buildings
centre cooking, cleaning, where everyone’s experience is were soon built to accommodate
looking after animals and valued. up to 60 farmers and staff.
gardening. With its pig shed and New approach needed There are now 10 students at the
chicken coops, it doesn’t look school, enrolled in the very first



CCCD training course for
ethnic minority youth.
The students practice new
skills on a 0.7 ha garden, which
has 400 fruit trees, as well as
local crops like corn and several
types of potato. There is also a
400 sq.m herbal medicine
garden that has plants from
northern and central Vietnam.
On the hill behind the CCCD
compound is a 6.8 ha
regeneration forest with 5,200
cinnamon trees and 4,000 acacia
trees. Regulations on forest
protection have been set up, and
the Vietnamese villagers around
CCCD respect the boundaries of
the forest.
CCCD has been the location
for over 30 training courses and Youths like this Ma Coong man will be given the opportunity to become
workshops for coordinators and future community leaders.
key farmers from around Quang
Binh, and the centre’s RVAC “We learned that the the physical environment. The
model is developing rapidly. approach taken at the vocational land that CCCD stands on is
Other organisations like LIM schools is very theoretical... and similar to much of the terrain in
an d the Food Secur it y the students found it very highland Quang Binh, with poor
Programme are beginning to difficult because they did not soil and sloping fields. There is
take notice, and they now want have the opportunity to practice also a large, forested hill behind
to build their own training new skills. the centre. The farmers who
centres. These organisations “Also, the environment at the visit the centre feel at home,
recognise that there is a school has a very big impact on which is also due to the social
shortage of educational options their thinking. They did not environment that CIRD staff
for ethnic minority farmers. want to go back to their have created. The staff welcome
CIRD and TEW staff had communities to work on farmers with an attitude that
some early experiences with activities like gardening – they highland minorities do not
minority education that led wanted to be government staff, always see when they come
them to open their own training which is common among ethnic down from the hills. The mainly
centre. When TEW worked in minorities who go outside their young staff have a keen interest
Son La province, some Sinh villages to a new area.” in highland culture, and they are
Mun minority students were Chau says that vocational involved in a long-term effort to
sent to a vocational school in schools normally require a find new ways of integrating
Lang Son for six months. But grade nine education, but that traditional agriculture and
after they finished their studies, very few minority students ever forestry techniques with the
none of the students continued reach this level. This was ‘outside methods’ that are
working with the TEW project. another reason that CIRD had to represented in government
Some Vietnamese (Kinh) take education into their own policy.
farmers from Quang Binh hands. This effort requires that the
province were also sent to One of the main goals was to staff learn at least as much as
vocational schools, but they also create a training centre that they teach. And this is the part
returned to their villages offered an environment familiar that is truly unique – because in
without becoming involved in to the students. Part of this is Vietnam, both state and non-
CIRD projects. state development workers who
CIRD director Duong Quang go to the highlands are not
“The environment at the always so good at learning.
Chau says this is a common
problem for ethnic minority school has a very big Ethnic minorities are often
students who attend schools and impact on their thinking.” depicted as ‘backward’ and
colleges outside their villages: com p l et el y l a ckin g in
‘scientific’ knowledge.


From the distance it looks like a regular collection of farm buildings. But CCCD will be built into a major centre for

But CIRD staff have found first learn about the culture of rats, and the staff had no
that highland farmers have a the people they are trying to solution to the problem. One
range of knowledge they can help. Village elders are relied Khua student built a rat trap on
draw on in creating the agro- on to describe and explain their his own, based on what he
forestry model at CCCD. This is communities. Staff must learn learned as a youngster in his
good, because CIRD staff have quickly the customs and taboos village. The trap was so
not been entirely successful of a community, so that farmers successful that all the students
adapting their sci entifi c feel comfortable having these copied his design, and over 100
knowledge to the difficult outsiders spend time in their rats were caught in a short time.
ph ysi cal environment in houses and villages. This also This type of confidence-
highland Quang Binh. Last helps make living at CCCD boost is necessary when
year, all of the chickens easier for the students. working with students who
dropped dead from disease, and So far the staff have found often feel they are at a
the honey bees CIRD staff were that the young farmers are very disadvantage because their
raising also died. The hope is enthusiastic about learning from culture is ‘backward.’ Staff
that farmers and staff together each other. There is less of a have found that the most
can find some better techniques. culture and language gap among important factor in keeping the
the Khua, Ma Coong, Ma Lieng students active and interested is
Culture as an educational tool and Arem students then there is to use practical methods
between staff and students. The whenever possible.
CCCD may be one of the few older students help younger Also, in the near future,
training centres in Vietnam ones to learn, especially as village elders and other senior
where culture is given greater s om e h a ve on l y ba si c farmers will be relied upon for
weight than science. Obviously, Vietnamese language skills. much of the training. Older
CIRD staff are interested in This is also important because villagers will be invited to train
bringing more sci entific some of the students are as the students in handicrafts like
agriculture, forestry and animal young as 15, so they are not weaving, and farmers from
husbandry techniques to the always responsible towards other regions of Vietnam will
poor farmers of Quang Binh. learning. provide training in areas like
However, they are not interested CIRD staff always try to herbal medicine and forging
in changing peoples’ lifestyles, point out how much knowledge tools.
making people ‘civilised’ or comes from the culture that
even stopping them from minority students take for Growing pains
shifting cultivation. granted. For example, the area
This means that staff must around CCCD was infested with Despite the success so far with



“Other ethnic minority
students who study in big
towns don’t want to go
back to their villages.”

the first CCCD training course
for ethnic minority youth, CIRD
staff are making some changes
as they go along. After the Tet
(New Year) celebrations, four
of the original 14 students did
not return to the training centre.
CIRD staff were not overly
surprised about this, as they
knew the course would be a Not always working: staff and students dance the night away.
challenge for the students.
As director Duong Quang
The students will now rotate workshops held. The centre is
Chau says: “In some of the
between their villages and the located close to rail and road
villages, young people don’t training centre, so that they can transportation, and the farmers
have to do much work, they just
apply what they learn directly to can travel there without much
hang around with their friends. their areas. difficulty. But care was taken
For them, going to school
“This is so they can clearly not to make the centre too big or
means sitting in a classroom,
see the results of their work,” fancy in any way.
whereas at CCCD they have to Chau says. “If they only see In fact, the land around
work, clean, cook and garden – results at CCCD, they won’t CCCD was so poor that
and in their minds this is not think it’s because of their work, neighbouring farmers did not
learning.”
but because of others.” want it. They didn’t think any
At first, the students were put
Chau thinks that moving trees would grow there. But
on an intensive schedule that
between the villages and the after two years, fruit trees and
went at least eight hours per
centre will help the students l oc a l t r e e sp e ci e s a r e
day, six days a week. Now, staff grow quickly into their role as flourishing. This took a lot of
have realised that the students key farmers and coordinators time and money, but the
need more free time, and the for the communities. The goal is minority farmers can also see
work will be dropped back to
for the students to lead that it is the result of their
four or five days per week.
networking among farmers, and labour. And as their confidence
Chau also says that in the for some to become field-based grows, they can take over more
future, two students from each CIRD staff members. This type roles and responsibilities in
village will attend the course, of role is already taken by some community development work.
rather than just one, to make it
Kinh farmers that CIRD works In the long run, CIRD staff
easier for them to adjust to new with, including one woman hope CCCD will be a field
surroundings. from Lien Trach commune who office for key farmers, where
The 10 students who remain
is now responsible for the they coordinate activities in the
at CCCD seem to enjoy the
farmer network in the three villages. Although this is still
work very much, and they have Kinh communes of Bo Trach several years away, the district
a good relationship with the district. and province authorities are
staff. Most want to go back to already impressed with what
their villages to begin work, and has been accomplished. ~
A broad base for training
Chau thinks this is a positive
result of the course.
CCCD is not only a vocational
“This is a good sign because
training centre for young
other ethnic minority students students. It is a pilot model in
who study in big towns don’t natural resource management
want to go back to their and sustainable land use.
villages, so this means our
Government officials as well as
strategy is moving in the right fa r m er s ar e in vi t ed t o
direction.” participate in the many


Join the club
Farmers build interest groups as basis
for community development

O ne of the key goals for
CIRD, and TEW, is to
promote networking
among ethnic minority farmers.
The belief is that farmers can
learn best from each other, and
gain the confidence needed to
take more work into their own
hands. The main approach to
networking in Quang Binh is
farmer ‘interest clubs’ for
gar denin g and animal
husbandry.
The first approach that CIRD
took to working with the ethnic
minority farmers in Quang Binh
was to find key farmers at the Farmers with common interests come together in clubs, like this group
village level, who would receive visiting a garden pilot model.
intensive training and then re-
train other members of their people who want to learn more beginning, to cover operating
community. about gardening, animal costs. Then, members contribute
This was the approach that husbandry, or savings and credit 10,000 dong every month in
TEW took when working with techniques. savings, with the pooled funds
communities in northern Farmers who wanted to join loaned out to the neediest group
Vietnam, such as the Dao the interest groups did so on a members.
people in Ha Tay province and voluntary basis. There was a To join a gardening group
the Sinh Mun in Son La. great deal of flexibility, and and qualify for a loan, for
But after one year of trying members met to set up their example, members had to draw
this approach, things were not own membership standards and a map of their garden or
progressing well in several regulations. Typical standards household, and create an
communities. Staff carried out include having some land, investment plan to discuss with
additional research to see what enough labour, and showing the other members of the group.
was wrong. They found that in enthusiasm and a willingness to From these discussions the
some communes, the wrong share with others. needs of the villagers for more
people had been chosen to be Initially groups were kept to training in animal husbandry,
key farmers. The farmers were about 20 or 25 key members. gardening or cultivation became
not all enthusiastic about Management boards were set up clear. CIRD also provided
learning, and in some cases only with a group leader, deputy training in savings and credit,
applied what they learned to leader and one person to and how to set up plans and
their own households. manage funds. Members manage finances.
normally contributed from Farmers chosen for training
Sharing with others 5,000 to 10,000 dong at the courses came to the CIRD
training centre, CCCD, where
It was decided that a new they learned how to hold their
Enthusiastic own training courses back in
approach was needed, and so
CIRD helped the communities coordinators and key their villages. To promote
set up ‘interest clubs,’ which farmers are the most networking, the key farmers
were essentially groups of important element for trained helped each other by re-



Report from a gardening club member
Hoang Van Phuoc is a member of the Lam Trach coordinators, including myself, went on a study tour
commune gardening club. Three years ago his to the north, to Bac Giang and Ha Tay. We saw
family was very poor and lacked food for two or clearly the benefits of gardening, and the importance
three months per year. His five small children were of the various techniques we had studied. Again we
not old enough to contribute much labour, and his gained trust and assurance in how our families were
five ha of land was low quality, and full of working. As a result, my family decided to grow more
unexploded bombs from the war. types of fruit trees and local species, and widen the
Phuoc took part in a training course sloping area of our garden. We planted 120 lychee trees, of
land cultivation and techniques for growing trees. which 20 have given fruit. We also planted 50 trees
He borrowed documents from CIRD to learn more, of different types, like custard apple, mango, orange
and soon began to build terraced fields on his land. and grapefruit, which in one year will start to give
Here, he recounts what he has gained from joining fruit. We also planted 100 pepper trees, one ‘sao’ of
the gardening interest club in his commune: tea and several other types of tree that are all
growing well. In addition to the fruit trees, we
“Because I learned a lot from the training, CIRD planted more short-term crops like potato, cassava,
staff chose my garden to build a pilot model. My soy, peanuts and green vegetables, to increase our
family received 20 lychee trees and 7 custard apple income and improve our lives.
trees, as well as more lessons in technique. We “Looking back at the past two years of this new
planted and cared for the trees, and they grew way of working... the economic life of my family has
quickly. That number of trees is nothing to be proud increased very clearly. We don’t lack food and we
of, but it did give my family faith in the new methods. have a surplus left over to gradually pay back our
From there we grew more trees of local species like loans. In terms of economic results, our children can
jackfruit and tea, as well as short-term crops like continue studying, and everyone contributes to
potato, soy and peanuts. We wanted very much to raising animals and producing – according to a
grow more types of fruit trees, but we didn’t have the daily, monthly and yearly plan. We spend our
credit. savings equally on everyone and the whole family is
“This was a constraint not just for my family, but happy.
for many people in the gardening club and the “From the results of our work, looking towards
community as a whole. Seeing this, CIRD organised the future, my family will improve our situation by
a credit programme for household economic gradually increasing the area of fruit trees, in order
development. I quickly filled in an application for to build our farm to a larger scale and raise our
credit and received five million dong to put into living standard. In the past two years, many people
animal husbandry and gardening. I invested two in the commune, both farmers and government staff,
million to make a pigsty and I bought four small as well as staff from other communes and the
pigs, one cow, more fertiliser and nearly 200 fruit district, have visited my garden to share experiences.
trees of different types. Now I can sell 150 kg of pork This has helped encourage my family a lot, and
every year. made us happy and confident about our economic
“Before we received credit, the gardening club development.”

training as a group, moving well, although there were some He said that the management
from commune to commune. problems early on, when boards had too much work to
And when one commune was farmers were still learning new do, so progress was slow. As a
trained, the farmers there moved ways of organising. result, it was decided to
on to other communes to train reorganise the groups and
others. Progress quickens include more enthusiastic
Eventually, the interest club people and those with more
for savings and credit was One Vietnamese (Kinh) group pressing needs.
merged into the other two coordinator from Lien Trach Tung said: “From that time,
groups. As of October, 2000, commune, Tran Thanh Tung, group activities improved, and
there were 14 interest clubs says the groups in his commune the quality of the work
groups, in both animal ran into some early problems. increased. The needs to meet
husbandry and gardening, with In a report delivered to household economic growth
over 350 members. The groups Q uan g Bin h pr ovin ce increased, so a big limitation
organise meetings every one to authorities as part of the CIRD was the lack of credit. CIRD
three months, to check on each three-year evaluation in October responded by providing 80
others results and make 2000, Tung said that most million dong for the husbandry
improvements. For the most members of the first groups and gardening groups. Prior to
part, the groups are running were village or commune staff. delivering the credit, CIRD


Building tree nurseries is one of the activities that interest clubs promote.

brought the management boards groups have involved only CIRD staff are now doing – like
and coordinators on study tours Vietnamese (Kinh) farmers. research, writing proposals and
to Bac Giang and Ha Tay Three years has been adequate managing activities – Chau
provinces. Combined with the for the Kinh farmers to take thinks this process could take
knowledge gained at training over most of the activities from ten years in the minority
courses, the study tours CIRD staff. For the ethnic c om m u n i t i e s . A s t h e i r
provided the basis for the two minorities in Quang Binh, confidence grows, farmers will
groups to develop and record h owe ver , t h i s t yp e of gradually take over more
good results.” networking will take longer. activities. This will require
The management boards of CIRD director Duong Quang CIRD staff to learn new skills
the gardening clubs have Chau says that the minority themselves, so they can act as
requested a total of 160 million farmers must first become supporters to the growing needs
dong in credit from CIRD, with accustomed to savings in kind, of the farmers. Staff members
which they have purchased and then savings in cash, then will procure outside information
planted 6,000 fruit trees in 102 finally credit. for the farmers, organise study
household gardens. The 28 “We have to work on a very tours, contact other
coordinators that received small scale... setting up savings organisations and state offices,
training at CIRD have all groups and making plans. The and provide higher training in
organised re-training courses in minority farmers only have pr oject an d fin an cia l
their villages and communes. experience with ‘free’ pig- management, and monitoring
raising, so we have to provide and evaluation.
Start on a small scale them with knowledge of Among the final goals:
common diseases, help them people’s funds based on the
All indications are that the make pigsties and introduce savings groups that are now
interest groups will continue to vegetables into the pigs’ diet, being organised. In Kim Hoa
develop and play an important like cassava and potato.” commune, for example, 11
role in spreading knowledge million dong was saved after
throughout their communities. Building for the future one year, a figure that could
Some groups are beginning to grow to 30 or 40 million in a
divide and find new members to Whereas the Kinh farmers over few more years. This will pave
form new clubs. the next three years will take the way for larger and larger
Up to now, most of the over almost all the activities that loans, as well as capital for



What good is a red book?
CIRD’s land allocation programme raises
awareness – and questions
allocation policy seems to
One of CIRD’s most important programme areas is
promise.
natural resource management. CIRD helps ethnic When CIRD gave a three-
minority communities in Quang Binh to obtain land year evaluation in front of
use rights certificates and contracts for forest land. Quang Binh province officials
This story describes the outcome of the first CIRD in late 2000, one Ke villager
land allocation programme, which covered two was invited to explain the
situation and lodge a complaint
commues. It is based on a report by Tran Quoc Hien, directly to the province. Still,
the CIRD consultant responsible for land allocation. the villagers are waiting for any
solution or comment from the
province on how to solve the
problem of the trees being cut
without permission.

I n 1998 workers arried in
Ke village to build a
school. They had 90
m ill i on don g fr om th e
government’s Programme 135,
wood is for the school.”
The villagers didn’t see it
that way. The training courses
and discussions surrounding the
contracting of land all told them
Highland Quang Binh

The three mountainous districts
which aims to develop highland that they alone had the right to of western Quang Binh – Minh
areas. use and protect the forest land. Hoa, Tuyen Hoa and Bo Trach
The workers set up their tents Tran Quoc Hien, the CIRD – have some of the richest forest
around the village, and soon consultant responsible for the land left in Vietnam. They are
they were busy at work. The land allocation programme, puts also home to some of the
village was bustling with it in terms of belief. Hien says poorest people in the country.
activity, and the villagers the villagers were angry and Ethnic minorities like the Ma
watched as these strangers went confused about outsiders saying Lieng, Sach, Ruc, May and
about their business. one thing and doing another: Arem live by very modest
The Ma Lieng people of Ke protect the forest, or cut it means, with most of their
village were happy to receive a down? income drawn from forest
new school building, but they When Hien came to the cultivation. These groups had
were not impressed with the village shortly after the trees little contact with outsiders until
way to workers went about their were cut, the villagers were a ft e r 1 9 5 4 , wh e n t h e
job. very upset. He explained that government of Vietnam began
The villagers had just the workers were contracted by to concern itself with natural
received land use contracts for the government – they were not resource management.
the forest land surrounding their officials themselves – and they These ethnic groups, together
village, and they knew these clearly disregarded the law. But labelled ‘Chut’ by Vietnamese
contracts had been issued with the villages have still lost faith ethnographers, have mostly
strict rules and regulations that their contracts give them been resettled following the
about forest protection. So when the power to manage the forests government policy to stop
the workers cut a number of around their community. shifting cultivation. Some
trees from the contracted land, For the villagers and the villages have been moved to
the villagers asked under whose CIRD staff involved in land new areas outside the forest,
permission the trees had been allocation, this was not a small and given homes, tools and
cut. problem. It indicates the long farm land.
The workers didn’t seem to way to go before small forest- One example is the Ma Lieng
care about permission. “What’s dwelling communities will truly people, who live in a few small
the problem?” they asked, “the have the rights that forest villages in western Tuyen Hoa


Villagers and staff worked on mapping together, based on existing land use.

district. One of the villages, Ma Lieng people. Alcohol use Vietnamese communes, one in
Cao, was resettled by the became more common, and Tuyen Hoa and one in Minh
government to an area very many traditions and customs Hoa district. These communes
close to a Kinh (Vietnamese) began to dwindle. Eventually, were chosen because CIRD
village. The new village, Chuoi, some of the villagers returned to wanted to gain as much
was given homes, production their old location, where they experience as possible before
tools and seeds to grow wet believed their ancestor spirits moving on to ethnic minority
rice. would protect them. areas, and because it was felt
Unfortunately, the villagers The situation in Chuoi village that province and district
were not happy with the new contrasts with Ke village, which authorities would agree more
homes, mainly because altars was not resettled by the readily to land allocation in
had been built for them which government. When CIRD staff Vietnamese areas.
did not correspond to the were carrying out research in The three pilot models are
traditional style. Ma Lieng Tuyen Hoa district in 1997, they now complete, and 2,869 ha of
people have very specific found that Ke village had very forest land has been allocated,
cultural guidelines for choosing strong traditions and very along with 39 ha of cultivation
wood for a house – particularly knowledgeable village elders. land, for 189 families and 12
for the altar. None of the Because there were many other mass organisation branches (of
guidelines were followed, so the programmes already for Chuoi both the Women’s Union and
Ch u oi vi lla g er s wer e village, the CIRD staff decided Youth Union). Seven sets of
uncomfortable in their new Ke village would be a better site community regulations of forest
homes from the beginning. for a community development protection were established as
Also, the Ma Lieng villagers pilot model. part of the programme, by
were unfamiliar with wet rice One of the key components people in Ke village and the two
agriculture, and their yields of this pilot model was land Vietnamese communes.
were very low. allocation for both cultivation
On top of this, Chuoi village and forest land. At the same State forest policy
was right next door to a time, CIRD staff decided to
Vietnamese village, and this had initiate a land allocation Before the late 1980s, the main
some negative impacts on the pr ogr amme with two concern for state forest



CIRD requested that both wives and husbands’ names The first training course for
farmers was on natural resource
appear on land use certificates. management and land rights,
including the different laws for
enterprises wa s meeting In this situation, CIRD for e st , a gr i cul t ura l an d
production quotas that were wanted to create a series of pilot settlement land. After training,
based simply on how much models that would demonstrate the land allocation process
wood was cut. In this situation, the positive impact that land formally started, with specific
f or e s t s w e r e e x p l oi t e d allocation can have on poor tasks for each village and
indiscriminately. Furthermore, communities. In addition to household. Conflict resolution
the rights and responsibilities of economic benefits, the hope was was discussed, to help prevent
different groups in managing to demonstrate the women and any disputes. Then, mapping
forests were not clear, which led men can gain knowledge and w a s c a r r i e d ou t wi t h
to more exploitation. confidence about their rights individuals, households and
Aft er doi moi, th e and responsibilities towards groups of households, to
government slowly began to forest and cultivation land. confirm individual land plots
change its approach. The 1993 Furthermore, through the and obtain formal witnesses
Land Law allowed most of the allocation of some forest land to from commune and district
benefits associated with private mass organisations, the first step offices.
ownership, and guidelines could be taken in creating a After this work was done,
issued by the Ministry of legal basis for true community staff returned to the office to
A gr i cultur e an d Rur al forests. check and analyse all the
Development permitted the documents. Formal maps were
allocation of forest land. Steps towards empowerment drawn and printed, and the final
But still there are overlaps in results were confirmed with the
government policies and When CIRD staff decided to management board. Land-use
decrees, and complications and support a land allocation r i gh t s cer t i fi ca t es wer e
conflicts emerge as a result. programme in Minh Hoa and purchased, printed with two
Cadastral staff do not have Tuyen Hoa districts, of utmost spaces for the names of both
enough training or resources, importance was involving the husband and wife. The final
and particularly in remote areas, farmers in as many steps as maps were submitted to the
the participation of villagers in possible. The programme was Cadastral office, and the
the allocation process is quite very thorough, as one of the certificates were signed. The
limited. goals was to show the positive communes and villages were
Many problems emerge as a role that a small NGO can play informed of the result, and a
result, including inappropriate in linking farmers and ceremony was organised to
classification of land types, government offices. distribute the certificates.
poorly drawn maps, and The first was to meet with Afterwards, seminars were
documents that are not accurate. province and district-level held to review the process and
Officials tend to record only the authorities, to get permission to discuss lessons learned. The
area of land that is allocated and start the programme. Next, a whole process took ???? long.
the number of families that meeting wa s held with All of the activities incurred
receive land. In other words, commune officials to notify cost s su ch a s tr a vel,
they do not pay attention to real them of the programme. A accomodation, food, salaries,
benefits for the communities. project management board was formal fees, printing and so on,
Sometimes the results go established with members from but the programme still was
against the intentions of province, district and commune- inexpensive compared to many
allocating land in the first place. l e ve l o ffi c e s . W or ki n g other land allocation projects:
Peopl e r ecei ve l and-use regulations were established and The total cost for one ha of
certificates – called red books – an action plan created, based on forest land was 150,000 dong,
but they do not understand the the Land Law. The management and the cost for agricultural land
benefits and responsibilities that board then select ed an was 550,000 dong.
go along with these documents. implementation team, who
The villagers prefer to receive would be responsible for the Women’s role recognised
contracts, which give them training-of-trainer courses.
much less right to the land – but For est , agri cult ural an d M or e i m p or t a n t t h a n
do come with money for settlement land was then financial considerations was the
protecting the contracted area. surveyed and classified. outcome for the villagers in


terms of their knowledge,
confidence and skills. One area
that was very important for
CIRD was the participation of
women in the land allocation
process.
To ensure that the role of
women in natural resource
management was recognised,
CIRD requested that both wives
and husbands’ names appear on
land use certificates. This was
possible because although by
tradition it is men who inherit
and ‘own’ land, all government
documents are gender neutral.
The issue was discussed with
villagers, who agreed that it was
important to represent women.
Each community has its own
customs regarding inheritance
Mr Dung, the Ke village leader.
and land use, and CIRD staff
did not try to challenge any of plots; the quality of forest in north. Because provincial
these traditions. Rather, the goal different areas; people wanting officials had to get involved,
was to inform women of their land near family and clan there was more paperwork than
legal rights and responsibilities, members; and overlaps in areas in other situations.
and give them the confidence to allocated under Decree 02 and A crucial element of solving
become more active in previously contracted under or preventing conflicts is the
c om m un i t y a n d fa m i l y Decree 01. c r e a t i on of c om m un i t y
decisions about land use. Also, areas previously regulations on forest protection
Another part of involving allocated by government offices and land management. As CIRD
women was allocating land to were not precisely demarcated, staff member Tran Quoc Hien
commune-level mass and some problems resulted writes:
organisations, particularly the because there was no unified “Before land and forest
Women’s Union. This was how approach to allocation by allocation started, natural
CIRD approached the creation different government offices. resource management followed
of ‘community forests,’ as land These conflicts all had to be top-down policies and directives
cannot yet be allocated directly solved during the process of which did not pay attention to
to a group of people – with the allocation, which meant that how people managed their
exception of existing mass villagers, officials and CIRD communities. But something
organisations. The goal is to staff had to work closely that must be recognised is that
promote community forest areas together. Land allocation can managing and protecting natural
alongside individual plots, to sometimes bring to the surface resources depends a great deal
give people the opportunity to conflicts which have remained on the participation of the
work together to develop a land dormant for years, and emotions community. Because of this, the
use plan and protect the forest. can run high. So far, however, role of the community must be
the conflicts that arose have respected, and the community’s
Not all conflicts are bad been solved amicably, and they own system of management
actually pr ovid ed an must be written into regulations
The participation of whole opportunity for farmers and on natural resource
communities was necessary staff to learn more about their management. This will help
because it was inevitable that rights and how to solve any preserve and promote the
disagreements and conflicts future land use disputes. traditional customs of each area
would emerge over the division The most time consuming and people, so that policies and
of land. In the three areas where conflict involved a border directives can be built from the
CIRD supported land allocation dispute between communes bottom up. Only this will result
programmes, conflicts emerged from different provinces — in true, sustainable management
over the location and size of Quang Binh and Ha Tinh to the of natural resources.”



A report on land allocation in Ngu Hoa commune
The following is a report written by Nguyen Huu Lai, resources – which is why life is not stable. Forest
chairman of the People’s Committee of Ngu Hoa resources and the land are gradually being
commune, Tuyen Hoa district. The report is entitled depleted.
“Impact and results of the forest and land allocation
programme and building community regulations in In April of 1997, the ICCO project (CIRD) came
Ngu Hoa commune.” to Ngu Hoa, and completely changed the awareness
and way of working of the people of Ngu Hoa –
Ngu Hoa is a highland commune lying in the through the household economic garden.
northeast of Tuyen Hoa, Quang Binh. It is located
in an area where the border between Quang Binh Here, in this report, I will not talk about all the
and Ha Tinh province is not clearly marked. activities of the project, like the study tours,
training courses, and credit, or the results of
In 1983 following the resettlement policy of building the Sot dam. Neither will I talk about the
Quang Binh province, 200 of 225 familes in Ngu devoted efforts of the project staff. Instead, I will
Hoa were moved to Binh Thuan province (in the just talk about the positive impact of the land and
south) to build a new economic zone. Ngu Hoa forest allocation programme that CIRD supported
commune was abolished. In May of 1985, many and carried out in our commune.
families returned, and the authorities reinstated
Ngu Hoa as a commune at that time. As a commune staff member, I understand
closely the hopes and aspirations of the people.
Our commune is an area of high potential, with Observing the activites of the land and forest
rich natural resources including the Rao Tro river allocation project, I have seen the following:
and the Sot, Kin and Noc streams that are never
dry, and provide a good source of fresh water for - The land and forest allocation programme has
the people. Forest resources in Ngu Hoa are rich been extremely important in terms of the
and diverse, and the land is fertile. There is even a consciousness of the people and developing in a new
flat plain of several dozen hectares near Y village direction. It is completely suitable with the needs of
that can serve as pasture land. The low line of hills the people.
on both sides of the Rao Tro is suitable for farming.
Most of the food and goods we produce are from - Before allocating land, the people of Ngu Hoa
the forest. Outside a small amount of fertile land, received training about Decree 02 on forest land
most people in Ngu Hoa farm on swidden fields. allocation, and their rights and responsibilities in
Each year several dozen hectares of land is burnt receiving land. At the same time, the people of Ngu
for fields, with the wood collected and sold. Hoa gained a better understanding of the value of
Agricultural production in Ngu Hoa depends our natural resources. The most important thing
entirely on nature – the weather and natural (Continued on page 16)

It is this bottom-up aspect of forest land surrounding their the villagers are waiting for any
the programme that Hien feels communities. The Ma Lieng response or action from
is responsible for the success people of Ke village discovered authorities at any level.
recorded so far. Hien reports this when nothing was done Until they here any news, the
that villagers made their own about the wood cut from forest villagers have little faith in the
activities plans, and were aware land allocated to them. With rights accorded to them in their
of the releveant policies and CIRD assistance, the villagers land use certificates – rights that
decrees, as well as the specific took their complaint to the CIRD staff told them would be
location and size of all plots of commune and district. They did protected by the government.
land in their community. not ask to be reimbursed for the This points to a very important
The villagers solved most wood, they just wanted to know issue that CIRD must consider
conflicts themselves, based on what the law said about this as it continues to support land
the regulations they drafted. type of encroachment. allocation in other communities:
This ensured that the process The villagers received no if no one pays attention to the
was fair, and it also helped build answer, so CIRD invited one rights of villagers in remote
village solidarity. woman from Ke village, .... areas, then what good is a red
Un fortunatel y, not all Khai, to explain the situation to book? ~
outsiders respect the rights that Quang Binh provincial officials.
farmers now have over the This was in the Fall, 2000. Still,


for the project was not the area of land allocated, that the villagers trust and they have been active in
but the capacity and awareness of the people. getting results.

- All conflicts related to land and borders were - After the training course, the people
solved by the commune and village authorities immediately became aware of the need to allocate
amicably before allocation (such as the border forest. For example, Mr Ngoi and Lien from Village
between villages 4 and 5, the border of the 4 didn’t let their children go into the forest to
Resettlement Department forest, and some conflicts gather wood any more. And from the time
between families in Village 4). This was very regulations were set up, deforestation has stopped
important not only for the process of allocation but completely. None of the people of Ngu Hoa enter the
for improving village spirit. forest to cut trees or collect wood anymore. And
there have been no cases of forest being burnt, as
- The work of allocating land was completely used to happen occasionally in the past.
democratic, and carried out on the principle that
everyone should participate. The villagers discussed - After the management board dealt with three
amongst themselves, decided for themselves how to cases of outsiders from Mai Hoa entering the Ngu
divide the land, and signed their own application Hoa forest, no outsiders have cut any trees in our
forms. Because of this, everyone understood very area. You never see boats from Mai Hoa, in Ha
clearly every detail about the land they were Tinh, loaded with wood on the Rao Tro river any
receiving: the landmarks, borders, area, type of more.
forest and an understanding of what they have to
do with the land. - Families that have forest plots close together
confer with each other to protect the land, so the
- In the documents, the land and forest allocation village atmosphere is improved and strengthened.
certificate has the name of both wife and husband,
which means that women and men have an equal - To now, many families in villages 2,3 and 5
role in using and managing land. This makes the have worked together to clear and trim forest, and
women of Ngu Hoa much more encouraged and have begun small farm plots. Mr Dong, Thanh and
confident. Tinh have invested in fruit seedlings and planned
pilot models, in the hope of seeing good results in a
- In addition to land and forest allocation to few years.
households, the programme allocated land to mass
organisations, particularly the Women’s Union. All In sum, the land and forest allocation
of the members of the union received land together, programme was timely and suitable with the
which was good for the spirit and unity of the whole aspirations of Ngu Hoa people, and is a big step in
community. raising awareness towards a new way of earning a
living. Up to now we can assert that the forest of
From the different steps of the land allocation Ngu Hoa is recuperating day by day. The life of the
work, from the other support provided by the people is improving gradually. And most of all the
programme, and from our own knowledge, the belief of the people is that tomorrow will be better.
people of Ngu Hoa have had many opportunities to People can have confidence and take the initiative
raise our awareness. Although the land allocation in developing their land.
programme has not been finished for long (only five
months) there has still been a positive impact on the
economic, social and environmental situation in Quang Binh
Ngu Hoa commune. For example: October 10, 2000
Chairman of Ngu Hoa commune
- To ensure our roles and responsibilities, and the (signed)
value of forest resources, the people wrote for Nguyen Huu Lai
themselves community regulations on protecting
the forest. These regulations were built from
meetings held in each village. After training, the
villagers came up with regulations for each village,
and these were unified and ratified in a general list
of regulations for the whole commune.

- Another worthy point, along with the building
of community regulations on managing and
protecting forests, was the selection of a
management board. The management board has 7
people: the commune chairman, commune police
officer, and the village leaders. These are people



Uniting gender and culture
TEW’s approach
to working with
women

TEW’s goal is to overcome the potential contradiction in trying to strengthen both
traditional culture and women’s roles, at the same time. The TEW project with Sinh
Mun women like Vi Thi Khau, above, was the first chance for staff to put their ideas
into effect.

F or TEW, there is a
contradiction which
must be solved for
balanced development to take
place: traditional culture is the
all create different needs, and
possible conflicts. As a rule,
there will always be some
disagreement over the values of
a community or culture – what
changed gender relations
th r ou gh p oli ci es lik e
r e s e t t l e m e n t a n d fi x e d
cultivation, and universal
education. TEW is therefore
ba sis for commun it y the values represent, and who another outside influence, one
development, but it can also be should define or control them. that aims to pr ovide
an obstacle to gender equality. D e ve l op m en t i n vol ve s opportunities for women to take
The TEW strategy is to find a creating solutions for different more control of their lives.
balance between the two. We groups, based on their practical It is our believe that giving
cannot afford to concentrate and strategic needs. In this women opportunities does not
only on community rights, or process, individual needs are mean destroying or even
only on individual rights. important as well as community damaging traditional culture.
Furthermore, we have to work needs. For example, individuals Giving women opportunities
towards both at the same time. should have the right to choose, allows both women and men to
How to accomplish this? the right to an education, and improve their lives, using their
First, it is necessary to look the right to vote. If communities own efforts, and this can in fact
closely at traditional cultures do not offer all of their improve gender relations within
and small communities. In all members these opportunities, a community. This has been the
communities, there are different then people can be given T E W exper i en ce wi t h
groups, and these groups have opportunities by outsiders. community development since
different needs. Divisions This has been the reality for 1994. In areas where women
involving clan, family, age, many years in Vietnam – have made major strides
wealth, religion and gender can outsiders, usually the state, have forward, men recognise and


Development
Empowerment of women Empowerment of ethnic
based on gender equality. minority communities based
on cultural values.

TEW strategy

Gender Culture

Individual rights Community rights

The above diagram summarises the approach taken by TEW staff. Many projects support visible elements of minority
culture like weaving and embroidery — but there are many other ways of empowering women to expand their role in
the community.

appreciate the value of these
developments.
Nonetheless, TEW needs a
very clear strategy in how to
involve women in development
activities, in communities where
they do not normally engage in
public events. The first step is
that all TEW staff must be
sensitive to gender issues, in all
working situations. Other steps
are:
Know the culture.
Know women’s needs and
ideas.
Start with activities the
women are already interested in.
Start on the village level.
Involve women in project
management boards.
Involve women in key
fa r m er n e t wor k i n g by:
increasing confidence at village
level; involving women in
specific networks related to
their interests; and involving
women in national key farmer
network.
These steps are the basis for
TEW’s approach to community
development in ethnic minority
communities. They will help to
ensure that women’s confidence examples of how this approach Sinh Mun women coordinators
and knowledge can progress can be implemented is in the in 1994, and the project has
until they can take control of Sinh Mun community of Son La helped to completely turn
their own lives. province. TEW began working around the desperate situation
One of the most successful with Bo Ngoi village and 17 the Sinh Mun people faced. ~



First steps in Bo Ngoi village

The Sinh Mun village of Bo Ngoi was the first major TEW project site

Son La province officials told TEW not to work with Sinh Mun. The Sinh Mun were
the Sinh Mun ‘because they are too poor.’ This was reduced to scavenging in the
just the challenge TEW was looking for. for est for ya m s. Th e y
exchanged some of the forest
products they gathered with the

T EW began working with TEW staff met the Sinh Mun Vietnamese and other outsiders.
the Sinh Mun people villagers in 1994, their situation Despit e th e governm ent
following the was still desperate and programme that began in 1985,
organisation’s first project with conditions worsening, partly as by 1994 Bo Ngoi was one of the
the Dao community of Ba Vi, a result of the market economy. poorest of the Sinh Mun
near Hanoi. The village of Bo Ngoi has villages in Son La.
The TEW director wanted to 11 families. In 1985 they were Bo Ngoi is about 5 km from
find the poorest and most moved from their original the centre of Phieng Khoai
marginalised community to test homes in Cuon Hut village to commune, and about 50 km
her approach to working with the valley of Bo Ngoi. The from the centre of Yen Chau
ethnic minorities. TEW chose to valley covers 25 ha and the land district. TEW chose Bo Ngoi as
work with the Sinh Mun people, is suitable for wet rice the site for a pilot model
who live in a very remote area cultivation as well as other short because it was so poor, and
of Son La, near the Lao border. -term crops. because it was in the middle of
The Sinh Mun live largely by After two years of living in the commune so it was a good
hunting and gathering products the valley, a group of Kinh location for other Sinh Mun
from the forest, and in Son La (Vietnamese) from the crowded villages to come and study.
forest resources are almost lowland province of Hai Duong TEW’s objectives for the
exhausted. arrived in the area. They settled pilot model were to contribute
The Sinh Mun were resettled in the valley and took about two to improving the living
beginning in 1985, but when -thirds of the land used by the conditions of the villagers;


cr eat e opport unit i es for material and spiritual lives. herbal medicine, TEW arranged
villagers, particularly women, to Together with project staff, the a study tour to the Dao village
increase their awareness of villagers discussed solutions of Yen Son in Ba Vi, Ha Tay
household, community and and built an action plan to province. In addition to herbal
natural resource management; tackle their problems. medicine, the Sinh Mun
and to expand the model to the The villagers appreciated the villagers learned about sloping
other Sinh Mun villages of training methods employed for lan d cu lti vati on an d
Phieng Khoai commune. the pilot model because they agroforestry at a pilot model in
TEW at this time was a very were based on practical Ba Vi that the TEW director
small organisation with only a learning. Also, the training was helped set up in the early 1990s.
few staff. The director’s goal led by the village elder and
was to use her experience from village leader, in addition to the Free market changes
wor ki n g wi th th e Da o key farmers. The village elder
community of Ba Vi, near could ensure that all villagers The Sinh Mun people were
Hanoi, to build a pilot model in participated, including the most vulnerable when the free
a much more remote location. women. mar k et ch an g ed th eir
Several sources of funding were Another method employed relationship with outsiders. The
explored, and in the end TEW was letting farmers learn from villagers had little experience
decided to work with IWDA, other farmers. When the Sinh buying and selling, so it was
the International Women’s Mun expressed an interest in easy for Kinh outsiders to take
Development Agency, of developing their knowledge of advantage of them. A TEW
Australia. IWDA representative
Di Kilsby travelled to Bo Ngoi Vi Thi Mun was one of the most active coordinators.
village on several occasions.
In working with the Sinh
Mun community, TEW decided
to use a training-of-trainers
approach that would rely on key
fa rm er s ch osen by th e
community. These farmers
would join together in a
network and receive training in
specific areas. The network of
key farmers would then be
responsible for retraining all
members of the community.
From the key farmer
network, several women were
chosen to act as coordinators.
Their role was to help manage
activities and oversee the work
done by the key farmers.
Women were chosen to be
coordinators so that TEW could
be certain that women benefited
from the pilot model.
A final strategy was to rely
heavily on the strong points of
the Bo Ngoi villagers and Sinh
Mun culture in general, to
support the activities and help
ensure long-term success.
A PRA research trip was held
to discover the needs of the
community. Villagers were
invited to analyse the reasons
for their problems, and the
impact problems had on their



report explains the predicament
of the villagers:
“Sinh Mu people say they
like going into the forest to earn
a living because when they
lived next to the Kinh migrants,
they felt inferior. They lacked
self-confidence when meeting
outsiders. When they go into the
forest, the Sinh Mun people feel
at ease, because they are
surrounded by their own kind.
Neighbours and relatives face
difficulties and solve problems
together. They feel at peace,
even though they only eat yams
and exchange a few forest
products with outsiders – even
though in 1993 they had to
exchange 50 kg of corn to get
one small package of MSG.”

Economic impacts

One of the components of the
project was training for the
women in how to use sewing
m a ch i n e s . T wo s e wi n g
machines were purchased, and a
teacher was hired and brought
to the village to train the
women. The total cost of the
machines and training course,
including travel and salaries,
was 3.25 million dong.
Previously, the women
bought clothes at the market at a Economic changes were secondary to a leap in confidence for almost all the
price of 100,000 dong for a women in the village.
women’s outfit (shirt and
sarong). By purchasing fabric Similarly, the total cost of a of fruit yearly, on average, for
and using the two machines course to teach the women how an income of 1.6 million dong.
provided by the project, the to make tofu was 2.38 million On e of th e female
women save 15,500 dong per dong. The cost of 5 kg of soy, coordinators, Vi Thi Khau, did
outfit. There are thirty women making the tofu and travelling an econ omic an alysis
in the village, who go through to market is 42,500 dong. The comparing her household
tofu can be sold for 50,000 income in 1994, the year the
about two outfits per year. This
dong, for a profit of 7,500 dong. project started, and 1998. In
means that 930,000 dong is
saved every year by the village Six families can process a 1994, Khau earned most of her
women if they sew their own total of 72 kg of soy every income from corn, rice, cu
clothes. month, which can be sold for dong, bi ngo and y di. Her
At this rate, the total cost of 108,000 dong. At this rate, the income was 4.17 million dong
the machines and training cost of the training course and for the year. By 1998, Khau was
course was paid off after less machinery was paid off after also earning money from plums,
than four years. Although this less than two years. ducks, cattle, tofu, and several
does not include the opportunity An even greater economic other sources. Her income had
cost of labour, the women say return was gained from the risen to 12.96 million dong, an
they sew only at times when household gardens growing increase of almost 9 million.
plum trees. Each household Her household income had
they are not otherwise occupied.
garden is now producing 800 kg tripled in four years.


Although not all families in
Bo Ngoi village had this type of
success, village life changed a
great deal in economic terms.
The number of households with
enough to eat, or a lack of food
for only one or two months per
year, increased from four to 12.
The number of households
lacking food for 3 or more
months per year dropped from
eight to two (there were 14
households in the village by the
time the project ended, up from
12 at the beginning).
However, economic changes
were only the start. Land rights
and the establishment of a
community forest area was Sinh Mun women and commune Women’s Union staff discuss gender
equally important in raising concepts at a TEW workshop. Training in gender and credit was a key
component of the project.
peopl e’s confidence and
st r en gth en in g cu lt ur e.
Community regulations were set
up on the use of natural
resources, and better knowledge
of the law and their rights has
allowed the Sinh Mun people to
protect their land from
encroachment.
The confidence the women
gained has allowed them to
manage activities themselves,
and after the original three-year
project ended, TEW provided
credit for the women to
continue to develop their
household economies. The
coordinators manage this credit
project, and send regular reports
IWDA representative Di Kilsby attends a meeting in Bo Ngoi. Di helped the
to TEW. Now, the Sinh Mun
coordinators can host study
tours to demonstrate how they
were able to develop so quickly.
One such study tour included
development workers and
government staff from Phong
Saly province in Lao, who want
to continue learning from the
Sinh Mun – by bringing Lao
farmers to Son La province to
learn first hand from the
women. ~

Sinh Mun women and TEW staff review project activities with commune
staff.



Update story

Who’s forest is it?
Traditional leaders and state forest
policy square off in highland Vietnam
On January 1, 2001,
villagers from On Oc
caught a truck loaded
with wood on the road
near their village.

n the eyes of the

I Vietnamese government,
Hm on g peopl e a r e
considered the most difficult to
resettle. The government thinks
it is very difficult to stop the
Hmong from shifting cultivation
and growing opium. A lot of
effort is made to get the Hmong
to change their traditional
practices.
But the government is not
always right about the Hmong Fresh cut: evidence of illegal logging near On Oc village.
and their relationship with the
district. In Muong Lum samu forest; to make a border
forest.
commune, where the Hmong for the area already protected by
One Hmong community in
villages are located, two the Hmong. The forester said
Yen Chau district of Son La
cooperatives were established. there was a change and now the
province has closely followed
One was for the Thai villages in district army would protect the
the government’s policy of
the commune, and the other for forest.
protecting the rare samu forest
the Hmong. Each cooperative Vu Lao Lenh, the traditional
on their mountain. The two
had an area of samu forest to leader in On Oc village, asked
Hmong villages of On Oc and
protect. The border between the who had decided this change in
Pa Khom, with about 600
two forest areas was very stable policy.
people in all, followed Ho Chi
until 1975, and the district The forester said he was
Minh during the revolution, and
government was very pleased following a 1994 decision of the
they have always placed great
with how the Thai and Hmong central army of Vietnam, which
faith in the Vietnamese
were caring for forest. stated that army units should
government. In protecting the
In the 1980’s, the Thai group protect valuable forests. Lenh
forest, they are also following
– much more numerous than the was very surprised and asked
their ancestors, who handed
Hmong – started to cut timber. why no one had informed the
down a strong tradition of
Now the forest in their area is villagers first. The official just
protecting the forest.
gone except for some small said the district or commune
In 1954, soon after the
regeneration plots. But the should have informed them
French were overthrown, the
forest under the care of the already. Lenh tried to keep a
village elders told the young
Hmong of On Oc and Pa Khom smile on his face, but he could
people of the village to care for
is still there. not accept what the man was
the forest, both because the
saying.
nation demanded it and because
New threats emerge After a few days, the forestry
the forest supported them.
official brought a team and
In 1959, the government set
In 1997, a forestry official came marked the boundary of the
up cooperatives in Yen Chau
to the village to measure the forest with posts. Now the samu


forest was under the protection
of the district army. Lenh
waited for someone to explain
the new policy and why the
forest cared for by the Hmong
now belonged to someone else.
Lenh also kept track of
whether the army was patrolling
to protect the forest, but they
never came.
TEW became involved in
1997-98, when we tried to help
the district allocate forest and
cultivation land for individual
households. The district refused
to allocate forest land, but they
did allocate cultivation land.
They said the forest already Village leaders confiscate a truck loaded with wood in the middle of the
night.
belonged to the army.
In 1998, Dat Viet company
sent a man to On Oc village, to
ask the villagers to cut samu
wood in exchange for a new
road. TEW asked the villagers
to refuse the company logging
road, and then TEW found
support for the villagers to build
their own road. This project was
very successful, and the
villagers built and managed
their own road (this project is
described in the first issue of
Existence).
Then, in 1999, the district
cancelled all the land use
certificates allocated with TEW
support. They said the
certificates ‘were wrong’
without explaining why. Villagers unload the wood the next morning. Commune authorities allowed
After this, in 2000, the vice- another logging team to take the wood away, with no explanation given.
chairman of the province issued
a decision to allow the Mai Son
forest enterprise to remove dead
samu wood from the forest.
This opened the door for
logging companies to cut fresh
samu trees, then leave it in the
forest to dry until it looked
dead.
Lenh could not accept this, so
he brought the situation to the
attention of the National
Assembly in Hanoi. Lenh met
Mr Cu Hoa Van of the National
Assembly’s committee for
ethnic minorities. Van called the
party leader of Son La province
and the head of the Son La
Samu planks left lying in the forest.



forestry department. Van told
them to stop the cutting
immediately. This worked at
first, and no more logs were cut.
But on January 1, 2001, the
village forest protection team
from On Oc and Pa Khom, in
the middle of the night, caught a
truck loaded with timber on the
road leading to their village.
They brought the truck back to
one of the villages. They
discovered the truck had papers
from the forestry department of
the district, but the papers had
expired the previous September.
The loggers were trying to use
old papers to cut timber again.
The villagers confiscated the
samu planks and kept them in
their village. Some days later
the chairman of the commune
allowed another team to come
to the village and take the wood
away, with no explanation given
to the villagers.

Villagers role ignored

The above situation indicates
that the working system of the
government at the commune,
district and province level,
along with logging companies,
does not have the same attitude
towards forest protection as the
Hmong people of On Oc and Pa
Khom. The farmers want to care
for the forest because they The next to go?: Axe wounds on this tree indicate the loggers plan to come
understand their life – physical
and spiritual – depends on it. exactly what the Hmong link between Hmong people and
The local government levels, on farmers in Muong Lum are the forest.
the other hand, take advantage thinking. It is clear they want to The government has had a
of central policies to offer know why the district army can resettlement policy for 30 years,
opportunities for logging take their forest, ignore it, and but the Hmong of On Oc and Pa
then give it away to others to Khom have not needed this type
companies to destroy the forest.
cut down. The farmers know the of policy interrupting their lives.
The villagers are hurt by this
behaviour because they trust the army receives money from the They know better than anyone
government and the advice of government to protect the else how to live sustainable in
their ancestors: although poor, forest, along with awards and their environment. Help must
they have cared for the forest recognition for a job well done arrive for the farmers to get back
for a very long time. Now, in – when in fact they do nothing the forest, so they can protect it
only a few months, they see a and it is the farmers who protect for the country, and for their
great deal of forest destroyed the trees. lives. The Hmong people and the
and taken away, under what is Clearly, these are problems forest are calling for an answer,
clearly collusion between local that policy makers must solve so they can both survive. ~
government offices and logging immediately. It also indicates
that many people need to
companies. Now, who knows
change their thinking about the


TEW and CIRD project areas

Lao Cai province
(Hmong ethnic group)

Ha Tay province
(Dao ethnic group)

Son La
province
(Hmong, Sinh CIRD:
Mun and Thai Quang Binh
ethnic groups) province
(Ma Lieng, Ruc,
Sach, Khua, Arem,
Nghe An province Ma Coong, May and
(Thai ethnic group) Kinh ethnic groups)

VIET NAM
Dak Lak province
(Mnong and Ede
ethnic groups)

Soc Trang and
Ninh Thuan
provinces (Kinh
and Khmer ethnic
groups)

TEW (Towards Ethnic Women)
A4 Lang Khoa Hoc Ngoc Khanh, Ba Dinh, Ha Noi, Viet Nam, tel (84-4) 771-5690, fax (84-4) 771-5691
email: hntew@netnam.org.vn
CIRD (the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Research and Development)
Dong Le, Tuyen Hoa district, Quang Binh, Viet Nam, tel (84-52) 844-227, email: cird@netnam.org.vn


Case study_Existence: Culture, ecology and community development in Vietnam

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