(VNF) – In the mid of July, staff and experts from the charitable organization Helen Keller International (HKI) Vietnam returned to Muong Lang commune in Son La province to follow up with the project Enhanced Homestead Food Production (EHFP). The project has been run in the locality for over 3 years.

HKI & local vets vaccinating the poultry in Muong Lang commune (source: HKI VN)

In the middle of July, the storm was fierce in Muong Lang, but it was not able to hinder locals residents from attending the workshop on nutrition care for pregnant women and children.

During the workshop, the learners were provided with a "food map" which features nutritious alternatives of vegetables and fruits which are available in the area according to season.

The ‘food map’ is considered helpful source of reference for local women to design healthy and affordable menu for their family, which contains sufficient essential nutrients like protein, carbohydrate, vitamines and fat.

Also on this ocassion, HKI team joined hands with the commune’s veterinarians to vaccinate the chicken and ducks which were sponsored by HKI two months ago.

The supply of poultry is part of the EHFP project, aiming to provide the local with better home-raise food.

EHFP was kick-started in Muong Lang, the remote poor commune of Phu Yen, a district located in the northwest mountainous province of Son La in November 2013.

The main purpose of EHFP is to empower women from poor households in Africa and Asia with the education and resources needed to raise their own nutritious foods.

Participants learning about homestead food in the workshop provided by HKI Vietnam (source: HKI VN)

Besides providing initial farming input like quality seedlings and saplings of vegetables and fruits as well as quality breeds of livestock, beneficiaries of the EHFP received training in food production techniques to ensure the sustainability of farming activities beyond the initial project timeframe.

In more details, the programs promote growing and eating iron-rich green leafy vegetables, vitamin A-rich fruits, and vital protein sources such as poultry, goats and fish.

HKI has been working in Vietnam since the 1990s, with the key misson of help improve people’s eye health and nutrition, focusing on children and the most vulnerable ones, such as the ethnic group, people living in remote are./.

( Phi Yen )