GREAT stories

Sung Thi Lan calls herself a boss in the forest. The 38-year-old woman is the director of Muong Hoa Cooperative in Ta Van commune, Sapa town, Lao Cai province in northwest Vietnam. Her business centres on making and selling traditional ethnic textile products and providing experience services around brocade fabric. Lan and her business have

In the early morning, Quach Thi Tang (born in 1991) and her family go to the ramie field to clear weeds. It rains so much in summer that the ramie plants are lush and the plants with the stems as big as a thumb can be harvested. “Since planting ramie, I feel very happy. The

Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam, Ms Robyn Mudie, was delighted when she recently met some of the many ethnic minority women benefiting from the Australian Government-funded Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) Program in Son La Province. Ms Mudie witnessed how local women have been introduced to high-value agricultural markets and community-based tourism and are

When visiting the remote commune of Suối Bàng in Vân Hồ District, in Vietnam’s north-western province of Sơn La, people may be astonished to see green orchards on what were once barren hills. Producing high-value fruit, such as orange and longan, has resulted in a better life for locals, particularly members of the Suối Bàng

With sweat on her forehead, Ms Dinh Thi Oanh carefully checked to see if the bamboo seedlings had grown roots. Soon these seedlings will be brought to the hills to plant and, with the harvest of the bamboo shoots, they will help women like Ms Oanh to live a fuller and happier life. Starting from

Carefully wiping dust from a white bed sheet in her guest room, 30-year-old Sung Y Hoa, adds some final touches to the cleaned room in preparation for guests who have booked to stay for few weeks. Putting some wildflowers in a vase by the window, she looks to the lush plum trees down the valley.

Moc Chau District, Son La Province, is located at an average altitude of about 1,050m above sea level, 180km northwest of Hanoi. The land is fertile with a temperate climate, a diverse ecosystem and scenic landscape. Home to 12 ethnic groups, Moc Chau also has diverse and unique cultures. With these distinctive natural and cultural

The Center for Rural Economy Development (CRED), with support from the Australian Government-funded Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) Programme, implemented a clean bamboo shoot production model in three communes in Van Ho District, Son La Province in April 2019. Farmers in Xuan Nha, Tan Xuan and Chieng Xuan communes were trained to establish

Deep in the forest of Nam Tha Commune in Lao Cai Province’s Van Ban District, the Dao people care for Bodhi trees, tapping the resin for export to European markets. The benzoin, also known as resin, is in high demand as a key ingredient for perfumes and essential oils. During summer, 34-year-old Trieu Thi Lieu