Trịnh Thị Hồng, founder of Minh Hồng Biotech Company guiding Khmer women on creating bio-products from organic materials. — VNA/VNS Photos Thanh Liêm

CẦN THƠ — Thanks to the help of the Cần Thơ Vietnamese Fatherland Front, ethnic Khmer people in the region have been granted access to effective income-generation tools at low cost.

According to statistics, by the end of 2022, the Mekong Delta still had over 277,000 poor and near-poor households, many of which belong to ethnic minority communities. Creating sustainable livelihoods for these people has always been a concern for party committees and authorities at all levels.

Turning organic waste into organic products

On a mid-September day in 2023, a livelihood training session for Khmer people in Thới Hòa B hamlet, Cờ Đỏ district, Cần Thơ City was organised by the Fatherland Front Committee of Cần Thơ City in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Việt Nam.

During the training session, female members were guided by Trịnh Thị Hồng, founder of Minh Hồng Biotech Company, on how to use locally available organic materials such as water hyacinth and vegetable waste to create bio-products that can be used for dishwashing, laundry, and household cleaning, almost cost-free and safe for users' health.

According to Hồng, her basic formula involves combining 3 kilograms of organic waste with 10 litres of clean water and 300 grams of sugar, fermenting them in a sealed plastic container to yield 5 litres of bio-product for cleaning purposes.

These products, including dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, floor cleaner, shampoo, and hand wash, are entirely made from 100 per cent organic waste, such as vegetables, fruits, and plant materials that are still in good condition within households, contributing to environmental protection. Moreover, after using these products for household cleaning, the wastewater can be used for irrigation to enhance soil fertility.

Hồng shared that initially, people can create these products for household use and eventually aim to supply raw materials to production enterprises. To meet consumer preferences, besides product safety, they need to be mixed with other ingredients to ensure criteria such as fragrance, foaming ability, concentration, etc., while still being safe for customers' health and the environment.

According to Hồng, the local community has established a cooperative with dozens of members. In the future, this cooperative can seek outlets for the products created by local residents.

Receiving 3 kilograms of organic waste such as water hyacinth and pomelo peel, along with the necessary tools to ferment into bio-products after the training, Thạch Thị Đầm, leader of the Thới Hoà 2 Women's Union, mentioned that she highly appreciates this approach.

Previously, there was a surplus of various vegetables at home, but they were often discarded. Now, they can be utilised to produce detergent, reducing costs and allowing her to use the products she has made.

Nguyễn Ngọc Thẩm, Deputy Head of the Mass Mobilisation Committee of Cờ Đỏ District Party Committee, commented that the method used by Hồng to process organic waste into products like dishwashing liquid, hand wash, and household cleaner is very practical and effective. The by-products after fermentation can also be mixed with other ingredients to create organic fertilisers for plants.

As a former Chairwoman of the Women's Union in Cờ Đỏ district, Thẩm stated that she has always been concerned about helping members of the union, especially Khmer women, escape poverty.

Since 2020, she has taken the initiative to establish the Cờ Đỏ Craft Village Cooperative with 38 members. They have been involved in creating handicraft products from water hyacinth and making pickled vegetables from water hyacinth stems.

Until now, on average, cooperative members have improved their living conditions, purchased modern household appliances, and promoted the cultural identity of the homeland.

With the newly trained model, Thẩm believes that in the near future, people will have better conditions for economic development and livelihoods while ensuring environmental sustainability.

Khmer women looking at organic products at the training session. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Liêm

Sustainable income equals sustainable poverty reduction

According to Nguyễn Trung Nhân, Chairman of the Cần Thơ Vietnamese Fatherland Front, due to their low starting point and an economy mainly based on small-scale agriculture without significant commercialisation, the livelihoods of the people are not truly secure and lack sustainability. There are also limited opportunities to access social services.

Nhân emphasised the need for authorities to implement various effective solutions to reduce multidimensional poverty, prevent its recurrence, and help people improve their quality of life.

Phạm Hùng Tiến, Deputy Director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) Vietnam, pointed out that many of the root causes of multidimensional poverty stem from a lack of sustainable livelihoods.

As a sponsor, Tiến said FNF Vietnam's mission is to introduce livelihood models to improve and increase income for the local population.

According to Tiến, livelihood models must be suitable for the characteristics of each region. Resources are limited, but with effective coordination and collaboration among scientists and authorities, appropriate livelihood models can be found.

At the training session in Thới Hòa, experts demonstrated two models: recycling available local resources such as water hyacinth, greenery, vegetables, and fruits to create bio-based materials, and the production of organic fertilisers that local residents can apply in their daily lives, generating appropriate added value for market demands.

Representatives from FNF Vietnam stated that in 2023 and the following years, they will collaborate with the City Front Committee and organisations in localities to focus on perfecting livelihood models for disadvantaged people in the Mekong Delta, especially the Khmer community.

Their annual goal is to reduce the number of poor and near-poor households by creating stable and sustainable income sources for poor households, particularly vulnerable individuals in society, especially women who often stay within their local areas and lack market information.

Establishing sustainable livelihoods for disadvantaged communities, particularly the Khmer people in the Mekong Delta, is recognised as a long-term effort that requires the participation of various stakeholders.

In a context of limited resources, effective collaboration between scientists, experts, local residents, authorities, and donor partners will help create livelihood models tailored to each locality, enabling residents not only to escape poverty but also to have opportunities for upward mobility, improve their family's quality of life, and contribute to local development. — VNS