For nearly two years now, the grass, a type of grass that grows wild in the Mekong Delta, has helped increase income for indigenous people in a way that suits their abilities and time conditions.
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“Have income and work”
That is what Mr. Nguyen Van Toan, Director of MCF My Quoi Cooperative, My Tay A hamlet, My Quoi commune, Nga Nam town, Soc Trang province concluded about the excitement of the people here when Participate in weaving baskets from bamboo grass. In this countryside, the vast majority of young men find their way to work in big cities, leaving at home only middle-aged people, no longer suitable for hard manual labor, women and young people. small. For a long time, even though people wanted to work, they could not find a suitable job.
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| Harvesting reed grass as raw material for producing household appliances. (Photo: MCF) |
“People who want to participate in making products for the cooperative will come to the headquarters to learn techniques and receive materials to make. For each quality product, people will be paid 20.000 - 30.000 VND, on average a person can have an income of 80.000 - 100.000 VND a day. If people want to participate in weaving baskets or making products from bamboo grass but do not have the conditions to go to the cooperative headquarters to learn weaving techniques, the cooperative will send people to each hamlet to give instructions," Mr. Nguyen Van Toan said.
Not only that, MCF My Quoi Cooperative takes full care of the source of raw materials and covers all products that meet quality standards that people can knit. Each household's income depends on the time they spend working, and even for those who have fixed jobs, they can still earn money in their free time. That's why, after just over 2 years of operation, there are about 400 local households working under the management of the cooperative.
Choosing this livelihood model is not a random story. In the past, the grass was considered a weed and people cut it and threw it away. When this type of grass becomes a material for weaving baskets, shrimp farmers grow more grass, which not only helps clean the water, create more oxygen and a suitable living environment for shrimp and crabs, but also creates an additional source of income. for breeders. With weeds growing in abandoned shrimp squares, people without jobs ask the field owners for permission to cut, dry and sell to the cooperative.
Increase income on the basis of resource conservation
Established at the end of 2021 but officially operating from February 2, MCF My Quoi Cooperative exports about 2022 products every week. In 1.700, the cooperative will export about 2022 products. The coordination center of the MCF Mekong Conservation Fund receives products from the cooperative and supplies them to a business specializing in exporting household appliances to the US, Australia, and Europe.
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| Dr. Duong Van Ni, Director of the MCF Mekong Research and Conservation Fund (third from left) and Mr. Nguyen Van Toan, Director of MCF My Quoi Cooperative (far right) welcomed the group of visitors to the model. |
The MCF My Quoi Cooperative model is part of the Creating Sustainable Livelihoods Through Climate Adaptive Crops Initiative, worth 1,1 million Australian dollars funded by the Australian Government in the period 2023-2025. MCF Mekong Conservation Fund is the lead partner of this initiative, providing overall management, including monitoring and evaluation. MCF Foundation's Rural Craft Village Development Program aims to increase participants' income; effectively use 5 sources of livelihood capital (environment, human, financial, infrastructure, and social); Build internal resources for communities so they can proactively adapt to all changes (markets, natural disasters, epidemics and climate change) and preserve natural resources and indigenous culture.
Talking to the press, Dr. Duong Van Ni, Director of MCF, likened the grass to "a gift from heaven", especially its ability to adapt to saline - brackish ecological zones. According to him, reality shows that it creates a favorable ecological environment and is a natural food source that helps shrimp and crabs grow quickly and reduce diseases.
This plant is expected to be a new direction for the Ca Mau peninsula - the southernmost land area of about 1,6 million hectares, including Can Tho city, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau provinces and a part of Ca Mau. of Kien Giang. According to Dr. Ni, growing grass is a model that is completely based on nature, especially without creating conflicts with people's current production.
Talking about the Rural Craft Village Development Program, Dr. Ni said that cooperatives in the Program are only established when the community is strong enough. The cooperative is completely financially autonomous but is supported with human resources and production planning.
“Currently, we have only stabilized handicraft products. There will be many other products coming soon, depending on the production conditions and people of each locality," he said.
