Aid for thousands in four poor provinces

Nearly 5,000 poor households in four provinces will be given a helping hand to increase income and job opportunities during the next two years.

This is one of the main targets of a joint programme on green production and trade in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Hoa Binh and Phu Tho provinces.

The 4.1 million USD scheme has been organised by the Trade Promotion Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and five United Nations organisations.

More than 40 percent of the beneficiaries have a monthly income of less than 200,000 VND (10 USD).

"The four provinces were selected due to the high incidence of poverty, especially among ethnic minorities, the concentration of raw materials and local production of craft," said Do Kim Lang, deputy director of the department.

The programme will focus on boosting five crafts based on bamboo ware, producing and weaving silk, sea grass, lacquer ware and handmade paper.

"We want to help poor growers, collectors and producers to improve their products and link them to more profitable markets," said Lang.

Under the programme, raw bamboo and rattan material will be managed, exploited and developed in a sustainable way.

"Green here means that we will ensure environmental protection when exploiting raw materials, and ensure safe working condition for farmers," said Lang.

A total of 400ha of bamboo belonging to 150 households have been zoned in Chau Thang district in central Nghe An province.

More than 460ha of rattan have also been planted in the four provinces. Local farmers have received training on planting, harvesting and processing.

More than 500 people in the four provinces have already received basic training in making bamboo products. And more than 740 others have received advanced training to enable them to make complicated and fine art bamboo products. They have been provided with splitting machines and storage facilities.

The export value of bamboo and rattan products in the targeted provinces is expected to rise significantly if there is a well developed understanding of markets, marketing and design.

Service providers will also help run advanced training in business development and invite foreign designers to develop new product ranges for bamboo and rattan.

Handicraft enterprises will be invited on study tours in Vietnam , China and the Philippines . They will also be involved in domestic and international trade fairs./.

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Aid for thousands in four poor provinces

Farmers dry woven bamboo trays and baskets at Hoang Thinh commune in Hoang Hoa District of Thanh Hoa Province. Poor households in several provinces will received help to increase their income and job opportunities under aUS$4million joint project between theMinistry of Industry and Trade and the UN. — VNA/VNS Photo Bui Tuong

HA NOI — Nearly 5,000 poor households in four provinces will be given a helping hand to increase income and job opportunities during the next two years.

This is one of the main targets of a joint programme on green production and trade in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Hoa Binh and Phu Tho provinces.

The US$4.1 million scheme has been organised by the Trade Promotion Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and five United Nations organisations.

More than 40 per cent of the beneficiaries have a monthly income of less than VND200,000 ($10).

"The four provinces were selected due to the high incidence of poverty, especially among ethnic minorities, the concentration of raw materials and local production of craft," said Do Kim Lang, deputy director of the department.

The programme will focus on boosting five crafts based on bamboo ware, producing and weaving silk, sea grass, lacquer ware and handmade paper.

"We want to help poor growers, collectors and producers to improve their products and link them to more profitable markets," said Lang.

Under the programme, raw bamboo and rattan material will be managed, exploited and developed in a sustainable way.

"Green here means that we will ensure environmental protection when exploiting raw materials, and ensure safe working condition for farmers," said Lang.

A total of 400ha of bamboo belonging to 150 households have been zoned in Chau Thang District in central Nghe An Province.

More than 460ha of rattan have also been planted in the four provinces. Local farmers have received training on planting, harvesting and processing.

More than 500 people in the four provinces have already received basic training in making bamboo products. And more than 740 others have received advanced training to enable them to make complicated and fine art bamboo products. They have been provided with splitting machines and storage facilities.

The export value of bamboo and rattan products in the targeted provinces is expected to rise significantly if there is a well developed understanding of markets, marketing and design.

Service providers will also help run advanced training in business development and invite foreign designers to develop new product ranges for bamboo and rattan.

Handicraft enterprises will be invited on study tours in Viet Nam, China and the Philippines. They will also be involved in domestic and international trade fairs. — VNS

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Retired rural workers benefit from vocational training courses

A woman weaves bamboo in the northern province of Thanh Hoa's Hoang Hoa District. Older workers are seeking ways to improve their skills and earn some money. — VNA/VNS Photo Phuong Hoa

HA NOI — Rural workers of pensionable age are being forced to lie about their age to qualify for Government-sponsored vocational training courses.

Nguyen Cong Chinh, 62, has been studying rattan weaving under a Government programme to boost the skills of rural ethnic minorities and farmers. However, the programme is only open to men aged between 16 and 60 and women aged 16 to 55.

Chinh is unrepentant about misrepresenting his age. He said that not only did he now earn enough to support his children, but he was keeping a traditional village handicraft alive.

Younger generations of villagers have been lured away from Xuan Ho Hamlet in Bac Ninh Province to major cities where they can earn more money.

As a result, bamboo and rattan weaving in the hamlet had all but died out until the communal Farmers' Association began running handicraft classes.

Like Chinh, Nguyen Quang Tam also had to lie about his age to get a place on the training course. He is also unrepentant.

"We are both very happy because we have been able to improve our professional skills and sell bamboo and rattan products and make some money," Tam said.

Nguyen Cong Thao, director of Bac Ninh Vocational Training Centre, said he numerous elderly labourers had asked to join the training programme. He said he had felt duty-bound to let them learn a craft so they could support themselves financially.

However, he said, because they are technically not eligible to take part in the Government scheme, the centre was unable to grant them a certificate when they finished their training.

"They are not granted certificates at the end of the training course as the centre is not allowed to provide them with the training under the existing regulation," Thao said.

Others have chosen to ask their friends or relatives who are of working age to register for the programme on their behalf.

Chinh registered for the course in his son's name.

Nguyen Thi Tuoi, president of Lac Ve Commune's Bamboo and Rattan Weaving Co-operative, said more than 200 households in the commune were now making bamboo and rattan products – more than 50 per cent of whom are of pensionable age.

Xuan Ho Hamlet is typical of many rural areas, where 70 per cent of the population is typical elderly.

Tran Van Chuan, head of the Nghia Hung Vocational Training Centre in Nam Dinh Province, said elderly people should be allowed to earn a living if they were fit and healthy.

"The existing regulation means retired people cannot benefit from the Government's vocational training policy for rural workers," Chuan said.

He said that many 70-year-olds and over were perfectly able to work and that many chose to learn crafts that were unpopular with younger people, such as growing bonsai trees and bamboo and rattan weaving.

"How can they survive without working?" Chuan said.

In a bid to alleviate rural poverty, the Government issued decision 1956 last year approving a vocational training project aimed at training about 1 million labourers annually.

By the time the programme ends in 2020, about 10 million of rural workers are expected to have received vocational training.

The decision stated that priority should be given to ethnic minorities and disadvantaged farmers.

Cao Van Sam, deputy director of the Vocational Training General Department, said the Government programme was aimed at those of working age because they were the ones that were most in need. He said local authorities were free to launch their own training programmes for retirees.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, 18.7 per cent of working age men and women in rural communities are receiving vocational training, against a national average of 25 per cent. — VNS

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