In the highlands of Northwest Vietnam, a quiet transformation is taking root within the bamboo forests of Lao Cai and Son La provinces. Supported by the Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) program, ethnic minority women are transforming a traditional craft into a modern, sustainable industry. By securing the right to work, ensuring job stability, and carving out pathways to leadership, these women are not only increasing their household incomes but also dismantling long-standing gender stereotypes.

Securing the Right to Work and Economic Stability

The bamboo sector holds immense potential, with global and domestic demand for Vietnamese bamboo growing from USD 7 billion in 2022 to more than USD 12 billion in 2025. For ethnic minority women in remote areas, this represents a critical economic opportunity. Historically, however, these producers faced volatile markets where prices could plummet from 12,000 VND/kg at the start of a season to just 5,000 VND/kg by the middle.

The GREAT program has addressed this by fostering a value chain that prioritizes long-term stability. In Lao Cai, the program facilitated output contracts with major bamboo traders and cooperatives, ensuring a steady purchase price of 10,000 to 12,000 VND/kg throughout the entire season. This intervention provided over 550 farming households in Lao Cai with stable incomes and the confidence to invest in their production. By the end of 2025, total revenue for households under this model reached approximately VND 8.5 billion.

Job security has also extended to the processing level. In Lao Cai, GREAT’s work with cooperatives created 10 full-time and 76 part-time jobs, the vast majority (over 80%) of which are held by women, including the elderly and people with disabilities. Similarly, in Son La, the Xuan Nha Cooperative provides stable employment for its members and seasonal work for up to 100 women, with monthly incomes ranging from 3.5 to 7 million VND.

Forging Pathways to Leadership

Beyond providing labor, GREAT is empowering women to take the lead in business management and community development. The program’s training in cooperative management and sustainable harvesting and processing techniques has positioned women into leadership roles with the skills to negotiate prices, manage large-scale investments, and direct complex cooperatives.

In Son La, Ms. Lo Thi Nguyen, Director of the Xuan Nha Bamboo Shoot Production and Processing Cooperative, serves as a model of this new leadership. Her cooperative, where women hold all key positions, has linked with nearly 400 households to form a sustainable supply of bamboo shoots. In 2025 alone, her leadership drove the cooperative to achieve nearly 2.2 billion VND in revenue through processing and seedling supply of bat do bamboo.

In Lao Cai, leaders like Ms. Ha Thi Thu Huong and Ms. Hoang Thi Vy have demonstrated remarkable initiative by negotiating stable purchase prices with traders even before the harvest begins. Ms. Huong successfully mobilized cooperative members to invest 150 million VND to expand their processing factory, a decision that required the active support and consensus of their husbands—marking a significant shift in family dynamics and male support for women’s economic goals.

Redefining Gender Roles and Community Impact

The success of these women is fundamentally altering how their communities perceive them. Previously, many believed that ethnic minority women were only capable of domestic labor and child-rearing. Today, the community sees them as savvy entrepreneurs who can manage finances and negotiate better than many of their male counterparts.

Mr. Trieu Tien Lua, the husband of Ms. Huong, reflected this change: “I didn’t expect that today my wife has become a quite good businesswoman… she is also very good at negotiating prices, making the business of her family and the cooperative much more convenient”. In recognition of her achievements, Ms. Huong was the only woman to represent cooperative directors at the 2025 patriotic emulation congress of Lao Cai province.

A Sustainable Future

The impact of the GREAT program is designed to last. By investing in modern infrastructure—such as safe factories and improved boilers that save time and fuel—the program ensures that productivity and quality remain high. As cooperatives in Lao Cai prepare for the 2026 season, members are already mobilizing capital to ensure they can purchase the community’s entire production.

Through a combination of secure market access, technical training, and leadership development, the GREAT program is ensuring that the women of Lao Cai and Son La are no longer just participants in the bamboo sector—they are its architects. As their businesses grow, they continue to inspire other women, proving that economic empowerment is the most effective tool for social change.