On the afternoon of May 9th, the People's Committee of Buon Ho Town held a working session with the Task Force from CARE organization, Cargill Group, Cargill Vietnam Limited Liability Company, and the Community Development Company (CDC) to evaluate the implementation results of the "Empower" project in the past period.

Delegates attending the conference

Attending the session were Mrs. Jennifer Soriano Sabianan, National Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development of Cargill Group, responsible for the Philippines and Vietnam; Mrs. Vu Lan Huong, Project Manager of CARE Organization; Mr. Bach Thanh Tuan, Director of CDC.

Representing Buon Ho Town were Comrade H’Blă Mlô - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of the town; Comrade Dang Gia Duan - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of the town.

According to the evaluation report, from January 2023 until now, the "Empower" Project has basically achieved the set objectives of the project, aiming to "Promote sustainable livelihoods for small-scale farmers, especially women and ethnic minorities in the Project area through market access and access to women's production resources and capacities."

Delegate discussing the project implementation progress

With a total funding of over 3 billion VND, impacting a scale of 4,000 people, of which 50% are women benefiting from the project. In the project's activities, 02 community events were organized in 2 communes of Cu Bao and Ea Drong to introduce the project and integrate knowledge about sustainable production, organize field trips, as well as conduct technical training classes to support poultry, pig, and goat farming for participating groups in the project. Many household groups in pig farming, goat farming, poultry farming, industrial tree care, termite control have been established and supported. Women's Union cadres at all levels have been educated on village savings and loan associations (VSLA), nutrition practice, risk reduction livelihood models in disasters, and climate change...

The management board of the groups has been trained in promoting skills, community activity management skills, contributing to attracting and gathering women and men to participate in community activities.

People in the community, especially women, have enhanced their capacity, increased access to information on climate change, animal husbandry, and nutrition through VSLA/livelihood group activities. 21 VSLA groups and livelihood groups are currently supporting members in accessing small, short-term loans immediately at the commune to support household investment in production, consumption, and community-building; learning and sharing experiences in life. In addition, this model helps farmers access the input market by purchasing collectively and linking consumption with large quantities. Establishing 5 poultry farming groups in Cu Bao commune and Ea Drong commune with a total of 100 members.

These activities have contributed to the basic completion of the project's initial 3 content groups, namely: enhancing production capacity of small-scale rural households, especially women and ethnic minorities, to pursue sustainable livelihoods; improving access to financial resources and financial management capacity for rural women and ethnic minorities; enhancing access to input and output markets for rural women and ethnic minorities.

The People's Committee of Buon Ho Town presented gifts to the accompanying units supporting the project implementation

In the coming time, the project will continue to maintain the activities of 21 VSLA groups and livelihood groups; Enhance access to input and output markets for rural women and ethnic minorities. Enhance the production capacity of small-scale rural households, especially women and ethnic minorities, to pursue sustainable livelihoods; Enhance access and control over production resources for women and ethnic minorities engaging in small-scale cultivation. Strive to complete the project's objective of promoting sustainable livelihoods for small-scale farmers, especially women and ethnic minority compatriots, by September 2024.

Speaking at the working session, the leaders of the Party Committee and the People's Committee of Buon Ho Town expressed deep gratitude to CARE organization and the units that have always been concerned and accompanied Buon Ho Town during the past time, contributing to changing the perception, mindset, and practices of local farmers, especially women of ethnic minorities; helping local people transition from agricultural production to agricultural economic development. At the same time, they expressed their hope that the organization would continue to support the locality in upcoming projects, especially focusing on community tourism development, traditional craft villages...