Ethnic minority groups

For years, the Dao ethnic minority group in Nam Dam Village are familiar with the medicinal properties of plants growing close to their homes, in the open fields, waste lands and the nearby forests. They have used these herbs for remedies for their families and for sale in a local market. Gradually, valuable medicinal herbs have gone extinct; therefore, creating awareness among local communities on the urgent need of conservation of medicinal plants. Ly Ta Den, a Dao ethnic man, has initially collected natural medicinal herbs for processing into products to serve visitors to Dong Van rocky plateau. Later, he found out that many of the herbs have been facing extinction for overexploitation, he was determined to set up a cooperative with the participation of 29 members to grow and process medicinal products, providing services like medicinal herbal baths, saunas, accommodations for tourists and tourism services in 2014. The establishment of the cooperative aims to conserve rare herbs and help locals to fight against poverty. In the early time, the co-operative has been bumping in difficulties due to lack of capital and experience in harvesting and processing. Half yearly, most people wanted to withdraw their capital from the co-operative, leaving only seven people involved as the cooperative couldn’t sell its products resulting in dispirited members who took their capital back; therefore, the cooperative’s capital was only around VND200 million (US$8,723). But, with valuable medicinal herbs sources in nature and his desire to take advantage of the mountains and forests to improve the lives of people in upland areas, Den and the rest of the members were not discouraged but kept the faith. Den traveled to the Pharmacy University in Hanoi to seek assistance where lecturers gave him training on production procedure of plants. He also linked with pharmaceutical companies for consultation of technologies in processing herbs and consumption of the cooperative’s …

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A house in Cat village in Van Canh district of Binh Dinh province (Photo: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn) Binh Dinh (VNA) - Three disadvantaged villages in the central province of Binh Dinh have been given access to the national electricity grid as the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday nears. Cat, Chom, and Ka Bong villages are in Van Canh district’s Canh Lien commune and home to 300 families from the Bana ethnic minority group. Invested by the People’s Committee of Van Canh district, the power transmission project cost some 15 billion VND (645,700 USD) from the provincial budget. The power system comprises a 22 kV transmission line measuring 9.5 km and three transformer stations with a capacity of 50 kVA each. Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Ho Quoc Dung said the completion of the project bolsters local people’s access to information and enhances production and studies, thereby improving the quality of people’s lives. On the occasion, a number of electrical appliances were presented to the forest management department and teachers at the Canh Lien kindergarten in the three villages. Three other villages in Binh Dinh have yet to be connected to the national grid./. VNA …

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Representatives from Nhan Dan (People) Newspaper representative office in the central province of Quang Tri, in coordination with Chinh Truong Orchid Resort in Hanoi, presented 100 gifts worth VND1 million each to Van Kieu ethnic minority people in Ba Nang Commune of Da Krong Mountainous District, Khe Sanh Town, and Huong Hoa District on February 9, ahead of Tet (Lunar New Year) Festival. In addition to meaningful gifts, the ethnic minority people in areas affected by natural disasters in Quang Tri Province received the prompt encouragement from the authorities and Fatherland Front Committees at all levels. * Dien Bien Province’s Border Guard held a significant programme to help people in 29 border communes in the four districts of Muong Nhe, Nam Po, Muong Cha and Dien Bien to welcome a joyful Tet Festival. In addition to art performances and folk games, officers and soldiers in the local border guards made and presented 5,800 banh chung (square glutinous rice cakes) as well as 1,500 gifts and over 1,000 national flags and pictures of President Ho Chi Minh to ethnic minority families. * On the occasion, the National Education Union of Vietnam presented gifts to officers, soldiers, teachers and people in Dat Mui Commune, Ngoc Hien District, in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, as well as in Huong Hoa District, Quang Tri Province, which was affected severely by the historical floods and rains. The National Education Union of Vietnam presents Tet gifts to Dat Mui commune, Ngoc Hien district. …

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