Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Celebrating a Sweet Victory!


Normally the streets of Da Nang quiet down well before 9pm. The Vietnamese are known more as early birds (5am!!) than night owls.

Well this was NOT the case on December 28th!! Vietnam was playing in the final game of the Suzuki cup against long time rivals, Thailand. After a nail biting match with only one minute left in the game Vietnam scored to win the title!!! The Vietnamese have not won a championship of this caliber in 49 years!!

Just to put it in prospective this would be like the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup against the Montreal Canadians at the Air Canada Centre and scoring in sudden death overtime of game 7!! Well maybe not exactly the same...it has only been 42 years since Toronto won a cup:-P And I wouldn't have been celebrating!!

Men, women, children, and Vietnamese of all ages took to the streets immediately after the win to celebrate the sweet victory!!! The celebration went well past midnight!! People were cheering "Vietnam Vo Dich!" (Vietnam is the Champion!), waving flags, improvising barrels and pots as drums, dancing in the streets!! It was a beautiful site and I feel very lucky to have had the chance to celebrate with them:-) Check out the video - it is taken from the exact same spot as the photo above! Vietnam Vo Dich, Vietnam Vo Dich!!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas in Da Nang



Being away for Christmas can be a bit tough and I figured since they don't really celebrate Christmas in Vietnam I would just work through the week and try to treat it as any other work week.
So I went to work on Christmas eve and all day everyone was tiptoeing around and giggling! Something was up!! Around 4 o'clock they called me into the meeting room where they had dinner, flowers and gifts for me!! I was so touched I even got all teary eyed!! How nice of them to go to so much trouble to make me feel more at home:-)






They gave me a new big rain coat to wear when riding my bicycle, flowers, and some lovely material to take to the tailor to get an ao dai (the national dress) custom made!

It just so happened that there was a HUGE football match going on between Thailand and Vietnam on Christmas eve. So after a great meal and lots of wobbly pops I headed to the local pub to catch the game.












Thailand has a long history of winning against Vietnam. After an intense match Vietnam ended up winning 2-1!! The whole city came alive for about 3 hours people were riding through the streets with Vietnamese flags and celebrating! It was truly awesome!











On Christmas day one of the restaurants owned by an American couple put on a beautiful turkey dinner so I invited Nhung, her husband, their son, and my badminton partner! So even though Christmas is never the same being away from friends and family it didn't turn out so bad! Happy Holidays everyone!!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Successful Workshops!

As mentioned in previous posts, the main propose of my mandate here is to assist the agriculture cooperative leaders to improve their business management and marketing skills. The first 4 months Nhung (the National Volunteer) and I spent conducting research to identify the training needs of the leaders and preparing a workshop on business planning and marketing.


During our research we discovered that the management capacity of the cooperative leaders varied greatly. We had to develop a training session that would benefit all the leaders. Our goals were to make the training interactive so that the leaders could share experiences with each other and to give them relevant examples so that they could apply the concepts to their own situation.


I must admit, I was a bit nervous about how well they would participate in a classroom setting. The majority of the coop leaders are male, aged 50+, agriculture background, and high school would be the highest level of education. Needless to say, the group demographics are not particularly used to sitting in a classroom for 8 hours!


We had planned many group activities, case studies, group discussions, etc. and some lecture. We held two 2-day workshops both with 18 leaders in attendance. To my pleasant surprise, they were very active.

We started the sessions with a cooperative game. They had to work silently in groups to work out a collective solution. It was a hit!






This group is brainstorming ways to sell vegetables to restaurants and the local markets!










And here they are presenting their ideas to the larger group! You can see they even got creative by drawing pictures to express the customers needs.

*Notice the Uncle Ho Chi Minh bust in the back. He sees over all conference rooms in government offices.





Here is Mrs. Mui, the only female coop leader out of the 25 coops in Da Nang. She is the head of a mushroom growing cooperative and it is one of the most successful in the region. She is presenting her groups analysis of a case study. They had to identify the sample cooperative's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.




Mr. Phuc shares his experiences with finding buyers for the rice and vegetable farmers of his coop.






These gentleman were having a difficult time understanding the need to treat specific customer groups differently. This exercise helped them understand that the needs of household customers are very different from the needs of restaurants and market vendors. They had to consider different pricing strategies, delivery, packaging, buying patterns, etc.





Overall the Coop leaders were very pleased with the training and afterward many of them spoke of getting together on a regular basis to share ideas amoung the group!!! I was hoping for this and the fact that they are taking the initiative themselves to form the group is excellent!

It wasn't only the coop leaders who learned something from these workshops. I learned a lot about the different teaching styles in Vietnam and Canada. In Canada, my experience with learning (especially adult learning) has been very interactive and the teacher facilitates discussion. Students are encouraged to ask questions, challenge theories, and add real life experiences. In Vietnam, the teaching style is much more authoritative. The teacher gives the information and the students study it, memorize it, and treat the teacher with the highest respect. So much so that questioning the teacher is often out of the question! During the workshops, I would ask the group if they had any questions, anything they didn't understand, anything they would like to add, etc. The room would always fall silent. Even when bribing them with treats and prizes to encourage discussion it was absolutely apparent that they were not accustomed to contributing in this way.

At the same time, in my Vietnamese language classes I often give suggestions for how I could learn better and always come to class with a list of questions. My teacher does not respond well to this and I could never understand why. Especially because I am paying for individual classes. It wasn't until after the workshops that I realized that I was probably insulting my teacher by doing this. And I thought I was being a conscientious student!!

While the Vietnamese can enhance their learning environments by encouraging students to ask questions and think creatively, I believe Canadians could also enhance learning environments by having a greater respect for the teacher, as we have been loosing this more and more over the years!! This is an excellent demonstration of how intercultural learning is often mutually beneficial!











Our next step is to choose 3 or 4 cooperatives to work with directly over the next 3 months to help them develop their own business and marketing plans. Stay tuned and feel free to make comments!!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Mid-Autumn Festival

The second most celebrated holiday in Vietnam, next to the Lunar New Year or Tet Holiday, passed through here a couple weekends ago. For business purposes and everyday planning the Vietnamese use the same calendar as we do in North America, however, for their holidays and traditional celebrations they use the lunar calendar.


On the 15th of August of the lunar calendar they celebrated the Mid-autumn Festival. The best way to explain it is a cross between our Halloween and Thanksgiving. It really is a holiday for children and a time to remember your ancestors. During the 2 days around the full moon, children practice the art of lion dancing in the streets. Much like dressing up in Halloween costumes and going door to door for treats; the children perform dances for the homes in their neighbourhood in exchange for some money. The children (most often boys from age 6-16) wear a two person lion costume. One boy is the head of the lion and one is the back half.













They are accompanied by a 'happy buddha' and drummers to create the beat for the dancers. The happy buddha fans the home owner while the lion is performing a dance.


When the they conduct the lion dance throughout your house they are said to be chasing the bad luck away for the rest of the year. The whole thing lasts about 5 to 10 minutes then you give them some change and they are off. Usually a crowd of spectators from the neighbourhood follow them from house to house. This all happened very quickly and I apologize for the poor photos but you get the idea.

Also, large stores, restaurants, or hotels will hire professional lion dancers to perform for their clients. I just happened to be at the supermarket at the right time to witness a spectacular dance. The streets were packed shoulder to shoulder.



For the full 2 days surrounding the full moon, there was an incredible energy in the streets. Everywhere you could hear the sounds of drums beating, people cheering for the lion dancers, and the youngest children running around in lion customes.

In the past, children would also be given small paper toys but within the last few years these small plastic toys from China have gained popularity.





This is also a time when families remember their ancestors and they burn incense, fake money and throw candy our on the streets for their ancestors to enjoy.



They place some fresh fruit, fake money, and/or flowers on the family alter. The tradition of placing food and gifts on the family ancestral alter is practiced at the full moon of every month, but for the Mid-Autumn Festival they will give some special seasonal fruit and maybe some extra gifts for their ancestors.



Families will enjoy and share mooncake. Gotta admit it isn't the most delicious of desserts but more of a traditional custom. Many families enjoy it in small portions with tea. I believe even the Vietnamese would admit that it is not eaten for its tasty attributes but more for the tradition. Kind of like when we hand out fruit cake at Christmas or grooms cake during a wedding. These cakes do take a lot of preparation and are quite expensive. Most families buy the cakes and give them as gifts to friends, family neighbours, or colleagues. The cakes are made of a heavy dense pastry (either from rice or flour) and the centres usually have a whole egg, durian fruit, coconut, or mung beans. These cakes can be purchased in many sizes and they are about $5-$10 for a small one of about 6 inches diameter.

Besides that I have been busy at work getting ready for our first training session for the coop leaders. Next few posts will be about some of the places I have been able to visit over the past few months and a report on how the training sessions turned out!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Fall Rice Harvest

When I arrived in Da Nang in early June, the rice fields were a rich green and each stem was half sticking out of the wet marsh.



Now the fields are dry and the rice is golden, as we approach the end of the dry season here in Da Nang it is time to harvest the rice.











I had the opportunity to go out to the field, I even helped out for a few hours!! It really reminded me of summers spent helping my neighbours haying back home in Bloomfield!! However, rice harvesting, in Vietnam at least, is much more labour intensive.















First, you must cut the rice stalks with a reaping hook (or sickle).



Then the cut stalks are placed in small piles as shown in this picture.




Once about 2 saos (1 sao = 500m2)have been cut, the small piles are carried by hand to one large pile. Once all the rice is collected they wait for the tumbling machine to come. The farmers around the community share the use of a tumbling machine, which trashes the rice stalks around to knock the rice grains off and toss the remaining part of the plant back into the field. The left over plant is burnt onsite and spread around the field for fertilizer. Before most families had gas stoves, the left over stalks were taken home with the help of the water buffalo and it was used for fires to cook the family meals.




Once the grains are sorted out of the stalk (each stalk has about 30-40 grains) they are poured into 50lbs bags.





All the farmers in the community work together to help each other harvest the rice. Each land owner then takes their crop home to dry out the grains. This takes about 3 or 4 days of dry weather....which can be difficult at the beginning of the rainy season. The family must keep an eye on the clouds and make sure to bag up the grains before they get wet!!




Once the rice grains are finally dry they are taken again to a communal tumbler machine or mill. After the small yellow husk on each grain is removed, the rice is finally ready for consumption!

I am not sure if this is accurate but from what I have learned about the rice process, a single grain of rice could pass through the human hand about 50 times before finally being served at the dinner table!! Hope this makes you appreciate the little white grains just a bit more....it certainly did for me:-)

Here are a few hard workers stopping for a much deserved lunch break. Of course they bring out the famous local dish, My Quang (My = pronounced 'me' means noodle, Quang is the province it originated) for everyone to have for lunch. You guessed it, the noodles are made of rice, and it is served with fresh shrimp, fish sauce, green vegetables are added just before you take a bit for some extra crunch!


Monday, August 11, 2008

Recent Flooding in Northern Vietnam

Many of the mountainous areas of Vietnam are vulnerable to flash floods and landslides. The people most affected by these natural disasters are usually the poorest of the poor and/or ethnic minorities. Much work has been done recently to assist these communities prepare for disaster mitigation, however, clear cutting in some of these areas has increased the frequency and gravity of these disasters. Even though these currently happenings are in the north, the low laying areas of Da Nang are also very vulnerable.

See below an article from the BBC about recent flooding in Northern Vietnam.

Dozens killed in Vietnam floods


At least 62 people in northern Vietnam have been killed by flash floods and landslides caused by a tropical storm.

Dozens of people are missing and entire villages have been cut off in Lao Cai, the worst-affected province.

A rescue effort led by the army is under way but is being hampered by the severe weather.

Tropical storm Kammuri, which came in from the Gulf of Tonkin and made landfall on Friday, hit China with rain and winds earlier in the week.

Officials in the mountainous province of Lao Cai, which borders China, told news agencies that tens of thousands of people had been stranded after roads were washed away.




Further landslides have been predicted, sparking fears that the death toll could rise.

Mud and water

The government said that more than 60 people were missing in several northern provinces, including Lao Cai. Hundreds of houses have been destroyed.

Red River in Lao Cai
Rivers in the worst-hit province of Lao Cai have risen

In Yen Bai, an official told Associated Press that some people were killed in their homes as they slept.

"The water and walls of mud came at night when everybody was sleeping," Luong Tuan Anh was quoted as saying. "They could not run to safety."

Kammuri is the ninth tropical storm of the year.

Earlier in the week, China evacuated nearly 400,000 people and called thousands of vessels back to port as the storm lashed its southern coast.




http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7551529.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7553797.stm

Sunday, July 13, 2008

My Routine

After seeing many apartments and much negociating I found an apartment after 2 weeks. Actually, I should say, Nhung found me an apartment....without her I would still be at the hotel!!

In the Vietnamese culture it is rare for children to move out of the family home until they are married. Often the newly married couple will move in with the husband's family or into a house that has been given to the newly weds by the husbands family. For this reason 'renting' an apartment as we are familiar with the Canada is not exactly common. Especially when you are looking for something furnished and for only 10 months.



My place is very comfortable, has everything I need including a cute little garden and a fish tank!! Very nice neighborhood, only 10 minutes on my bicycle to work and the beach, and just 2 blocks from the beautiful Han river.


Here is the Han Bridge just a few blocks from my house. Everyday at 2am the middle of the bridge swings 180 degrees to let the large boats through. At 4am the bridge turns back 180 degrees just in time to head to the beach!

I have now been here one month and things are settling quite nicely. I had a few things to get used to once I moved into my apartment such as: 1 - the whole city seems to wake up at 5am, which is fine by me however it is also the time of day that the 2 dogs at the neighbours to my right, the song bird at the neighbour to my left, and the rooster behind my apartment all want make the neighbourhood aware that it is morning:-)

So I was talking to a Vietnamese girl who worked for CECI previously and she was saying that her badminton partner was out with a bad back and she was looking for a new partner to play badminton with her in the mornings at the beach. So now I play badminton as the sunrises....usually I am awake before the dogs, bird and rooster! Hey if you can't beat 'em join 'em!! Actually by not getting up at 5am, you really miss the best part of the day in Da Nang. It does get light here right around that time and the air is still cool. So everyone is out swimming, playing badminton, walking, doing little exercises, and Tai Chi (which I hope to start this week).


The view in the morning.

So far getting up at 5am hasn't really been a problem since the city is sound asleep by 10pm. And we get a 2 hour lunch when most everyone goes home for a midday siesta. Even if you go to the open markets, most everyone is asleep at their stand on a small mat!

I can't seem to get into the routine of napping everyday but having 2 hours for lunch is nice to be able to have lunch and maybe run a few errands. Staying at the office is not really looked upon well so I don't stay a work through lunch as I thought I would.

Well my Vietnamese is getting a bit better but I still don't have high hopes of fluency!! I can now ask the price of something at the market and understand numbers.....this is very helpful. Other useful phrases I have picked up are What is your name? Where are you from? Thank you. Please. and I can ask for coffee with ice.

So here is a run through a typical day for my in DaNang.

5am Trang picks me up on the scooter and we head to the beach for a game of badminton
7am Leave for work
7:15am Grab a refreshingly, addictive Vietnamese iced coffee at the cafe across from work
7:30am Work day starts. This may involve heading out to visit a cooperative or farm with Nhung.
11:30am Lunch and Siesta Time I usually grab lunch somehere and then head home for a break from the heat.
1:30pm Back to work
5pm Head home
6pm Vietnamese class
8pm Grab a juice with Ann, my British Classmate, and practice Vietnamese
10pm Time for bed!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Visiting the Agriculture Cooperatives

As I mentioned in the previous post, the first few weeks at work were filled with research and developing a survey for the coop leaders to better understand their issues, stengths and weaknesses. We were able to survey 6 cooperatives, a group of rice and vegetable farmers, and several government officials & departments responsible for agriculture and rural development.

The majority of the cooperatives were formed in 1978 after the war to overcome the food stortage. Membership was mandatory and the cooperatives had little autonomy. In 2003, a new cooperative law was passed to give the cooperatives more power and to enable them to operate more like the international cooperative structure - similar to the way cooperatives are run in Canada and many other countries. Since the new law only a few of the cooperatives have taken initiative to become more service oriented to the members and run as an independent, profit generating entity.

The cooperatives offer services to members such as irrigation, fertilizer sales, supplying quality seeds, soil tiling, equipment rental and electricity. With both irrigation and electricity services the coops only act as intermediaries connecting the service provider with the coop memeber which only generates a small commission for the cooperative. Often the coops just break even or are operating in the red. Very few coops are successfully able to offer marketing services to members or have developed business plans.



Here is a tilling machine used to service members fields. This cooperative has 3 machine like this.



Many farmers have been cooperative members since 1978. They do not completely understand the role of the cooperatives or their benefits. All they know is, if it was a succesful year, they will recieve some of the profit in the form of dividends.

The majority of the farmers have rice paddies and grow some fruits and vegetables for their own consumption. Other farms include maise, peanuts, sesame, leafy vegetable produce, mushroom production, frog raising, and some pig farms.

Rice Paddy. Frog Farm. Seseame Field. Green Leafy Vegetables. Very important to the Vietnamese diet.

Some Major Issues

Human Resources
Many farmers and coop leaders are age 60 and over. Young people are finding jobs which pay better in local factories and construction projects so there is a lack of human resources to continue the agriculture lifestyle. With urbanization growing rapidly in the DaNang region farmers are loosing land to development and construction projects.





Lack of Marketing Knowledge or Developed Distribution Channels
Most farmers do not have a stable distibution channel for their products. Often they have the capacity to produce more but are satisfied with growing enough for their family needs and enough to exchange for some fertilizers.

Annual Natural Disasters
This region is prone to annual floods. Many of the farmers must deal with both thier homes and crops flooding to over 1.5m. If you look closely in the photo below of a coop leader and myself, you can see the water stain just behind our heads to where the flood waters rise every year. If the residents are lucky enough thier house is 2 levels and they move the family and all the valuables to the 2nd floor during the flood season. This coop office also moves up to the second floor during the floods which can last anywhere from several days to several weeks. CECI has worked previously in this area to assist with disaster mmitigation to reduce the affects of the flooding. (see links below)

These are just some of the issues the cooperatives and farmers are facing. My assignement is to help identify the issues and develop training sessions to help improve the leadership of the cooperatives. For the next 2 months I will be developing a marketing workshop for the coop leaders. The cooperatives would like to assist the members in developing their distribution channels and develop a brand for their coop which will be recognized in the markets. The problem is many of the leaders do not have any business planning or marketing experience. Ideally one of the employees from the bureau will assist me with the development and delivery of the workshop so that once I am gone they will be able to hold future training sessions and work with the members individually to help them develop their marketing strategies. Stay tuned for more updates - both successes and challenges!


Here is more information on CECI's projects in Vietnam http://www.uniterra.ca/uniterra/en/our_actions/countries/vietnam/in__agriculture_and_rural_development_in_vietnam.html http://publication.ceci.ca/common/dynamic/File/Diapo_reconstruction_Vietnam_ANG_small.pdf




This is a short video of Nhung and I driving through the rice paddies to meet with some local farmers.