Australian Deputy Head of Mission to Vietnam, Rebecca Bryant, and colleagues recently visited the Women Economic Empowerment through Agricultural Value Chain Enhancement (WEAVE) project in Bac Ha District, Lao Cai province.

During the visit (Oct 18-19), Bryant met with local women and men, provincial and commune leaders to understand challenges facing ethnic minority women in northern regions of Vietnam and how Australia’s aid program is addressing those challenges.

A meeting with women in Bac Ha, Lao Cai. Source: Australia in Vietnam

In a meeting with local women, the Australian diplomat stated: “We have the same conversation in Australia with you here, we talk about the balance between work and life, the balance in the household between the man and the woman, how our children go to be the people who would value family and friendships”.

“We are drawing our dream paths. Some are very simple, like we can ride a motorbike. If we can do that, we can go to many places and do things we want to do without depending on our husbands. It’s great when we can visualise our dreams and see a better future is just around the corner," she noted.

As part of the visit, Bryant took part in a workhop using gender action tools to discuss long term family plans based on the shared work and decision making between men and women in a family.

She also visited a cinnamon processing group, a sausage processing facility of beneficiaries of WEAVE.

Australian Deputy Head of Mission visits a sausage facility in Bac Ha, Lao Cai. Source: Australia in Vietnam

WEAVE is a four-year project (2016-2020) funded by the Australian Government, and is being implemented by a consortium of CARE, Oxfam and SNV in Lao Cai and Bac Kan. WEAVE has supported ethnic minority women’s economic empowerment in pork, cinnamon and banana value chains.

The project aims to promote equality between women and men within households and producer groups, working with business and government decision-makers to improve the policy environment to support producers./.

( Phi Yen )