A field trip at last!

After much anticipation and waiting, last week I finally got to go on my first field trip for work. My destination was the district of Can Loc in Ha Tinh province, central Vietnam. The project that I visited is SRD's VM038 project, "Taking a value chain approach to improve rural livelihoods in the context of climate change and natural disasters". The main goals of this project (as the name suggests) is to help the farmers, especially women, improve their ability to make a living in agriculture through improving their market access by taking a value chain approach. The project aims to do this while taking into account the challenges of climate change, by improving the local's adaptation and disaster risk management skills. Reading the project's proposal document as preparation for the trip and getting to know more details got me really excited to see the project! These kinds of projects are exactly the kind of work I hope to do as a career (which, as a side note, means I guess I'm destined for NGO jobs). I love that this project embodies a more sustainable approach to poverty reduction. It places it's beneficiaries at it's core, and more importantly, is helping them cope with issues that they are facing on a daily basis.

A co-worker and I departed Hanoi on a night train to the the city of Vinh, and when we arrived at 5 am the next day we hopped in a cab for an hour to get to Ha Tinh town. The commune of Vinh Loc (one of the the farming villages we work in) is about a 10 minute drive from Ha Tinh.

In Vinh Loc, my co-worker facilitated a workshop on gender equality for the farmers. They discussed the difference between a man's day and a woman's day, the barriers to equality in their community, and the gender inequality in other parts of the world. They also made plans for overcoming those obstacles to gender inequality. I was so inspired by the enthusiasm that the community members showed for this workshop! They were all excited to participate, and were very open to talking about the somewhat serious topic of gender equality. The atmosphere was optimistic and happy, with tons of laughter and music throughout the day. Even though I could only understand a little of what was being said during the workshop, I felt the drive that the farmers had for bettering their community. I felt unbelievably welcomed in Vinh Loc, having lunch with some locals in their home and being greeted with smiles everywhere I went. I also got to ask the leader of the farmer interest group about his thoughts on the project and visit some farms as well, which was really rewarding. I learned that the project has helped farmers cope with disasters and improve their incomes by introducing a rice variety that has a faster germination period so it can be harvested in only a few days. The leader also shared with us that he felt the project could be applied in other farming communities prone to disasters.

The next day of my field trip, the district of Can Loc came together and participated in a competition that SRD organized about climate change. There were 2 groups that competed, and they performed songs and skits that spread messages of climate change/disaster awareness and community spirit. There was even climate change trivia! Many locals, of all ages, came to the community center to watch the event. I thought the competition was a fun and approachable way for the farmers to get informed about climate change! There was no shortage of laughter and comedy during the event for sure. I think the crowd's favorite moment was during one of the skits, when a woman played a drunk man and stumbled all over the stage while pretending to smoke a tobacco from a dieu cay (farmer's pipe). I loved to see that the farmers of Can Loc were so passionate about climate change issues. They understand these issues not from textbooks or journal articles as I do, but from their own experiences of climate change effecting their lives; and that was a really invaluable thing that I got to experience on this field trip.

              

The competition was followed by a community meeting and dinner. The meeting consisted of both leaders and ordinary community members sang songs, and talking about the recent activities and progress being made in the district. Dinner was a huge celebration of the community, and I was again overwhelmed with the friendliness of everyone! I couldn't keep count of the number of handshakes I received and times I was cheers-ed. My coworker told me that the villagers don't often see many foreigners, so they were very happy to meet a Canadian like me.

Overall, the trip was a great chance to see my organizations work "in action", and to learn more about Vietnamese culture. I really got to see what NGO work is like on the ground, and I absolutely loved what I saw. I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to go on this trip, and I hope to travel for work a lot more of course!

Climate change and Typhoon Haiyan

First of all, I reassure my friends and family (again!) that Typhoon Haiyan did not reach me in Hanoi. Though the storm’s projected trajectory did say it would hit Hanoi at one point, all that we got was some heavy rain. That being said, mass media has already well documented Haiyan’s impacts in the places it did strike. Haiyan could be one of the strongest cyclones to make landfall ever recorded, with the highest measured wind speeds clocking in at 315 km/h as the storm hit the Philippines. The destruction and loss caused by this terrible storm are so heartbreaking to see. Death toll and economic loss estimates keep rising. News reports continue show the dire situation of Filipino victims. Emergency supplies, aid, and humanitarian efforts are starting to flood into the country.

For me, Haiyan has opened my eyes to the reality of climate change victims. When in Canada, the stories of natural disaster victims were part of my motivation for getting into the development field. Now they’ve even become my reason for pursuing masters in climate change and disaster management. But living in South East Asia, where these extreme whether events occur on a regular basis, has made these stories hit closer to home. I can’t help but think about how I am only a boat ride away from those Filipinos who have lost friends, family, and livelihoods due to Haiyan. It has made the impacts of climate change more real than ever for me. Of course the direct link between climate change and weather events like cyclones is a hard one to make, as this article shares.  However, we do know that rising sea levels (caused by climate change) make storm surges from cyclones bigger, which is why these storms have become more damaging for island nations like the Philippines. If Haiyan has taught us anything, it's that it can not be denied that climate change is threatening the lives of the already poor and vulnerable (whether you believe Haiyan was caused by global warming or not). “There is no need for exaggeration and there is no excuse for inaction.”

With COP 19 (the United Nations conference on climate change) discussions happening now,  I can only hope that the devastation caused by Haiyan is a wake up to policy makers! It often takes events like this typhoon for major action to be taken…  but whether action really will happen this time remains to be seen.

Ha Giang adventures!

I’m think I can safely say that I am becoming a little more Vietnamese with every passing day. By now, eating with a knife and fork is odd to me, I can navigate through rush-hour traffic on my bike no problem (even with a passenger on the back…), and “ôi giới ôi” has become part of my daily vocabulary. But this weekend, on a trip to Ha Giang province, I got to see a whole other part of what it means to be Vietnamese.

I got the opportunity to go on the trip with a group called Hanoi Couchsurfing, with about 70 people in total! After a grueling night bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang city, we rented motorbikes and I was luckily paired with a great driver. Then we hit the winding mountain roads, and spent the day driving to the small town of Dong Van. Along the way, I got to take some incredible photos and make some new Vietnamese friends. The sheer beauty of the province was breathtaking. I felt like at every turn, there was another amazing mountain view to be mesmerized by. The stops at lookouts/restaurants/cafes, and the bond fire we had in the evening also made the experience a real adventure!

On the trip, we also got a chance to see what life is like for the ethnic minority, farming, communities in the area. We visited a traditional home, went to the local market, and gave some kids fruits and sweets. I took in so much just by passing through neighborhoods…  seeing the day-to-day lives of locals.  I saw children as young as 3 and women as old as 70 carrying enormous baskets and herding livestock down the steep roads. That includes at 5am, when we were on our way to a mountain peak to see the sun rise. Having the chance to experience this part of life in Vietnam, and not just read or research about it, was truly eye opening. I couldn’t help but want to spend time with these interesting people, and learn more about their lives. I realized that this curiosity is why I’m in the development field!  I want to help give opportunities to people like those I met in Ha Giang. Now that I have a field trip planned for work later this month, I hope that I will finally get to help my organization do exactly that!