Partnering with local communities to improve livelihoods and quality of life in Cam Hai Commune

Cam Hai is a mountainous commune far from the center of Cam Pha city in Quang Ninh Province. Its mountainous terrain is home to many ethnic minorities living together – communities which have faced numerous hardships in the past. Many villages were only accessible by dirt roads, meaning travel was both difficult and dangerous. 

Local people mostly depended on growing acacia trees to earn a living. After five years of cultivation, one hectare of acacia trees brought just VND25 million in profit (approximately US$1,000). Thus, farmers have been wanting to convert their land to other crops to achieve higher incomes. 

During the 2017-2019 period, AES Mong Duong implemented an overall support initiative which aimed to improve local living standards via better transportation, improved hygiene and healthcare services, and the development of livelihoods. The company’s support program included the construction of 200 meters of concrete roads in village 3; providing learning equipment and building handwashing facilities for students at Cam Hai High School and Secondary School; the construction of a 200-meter drainage ditch in village 2; as well as donating equipment to the commune health station. The support focused particularly on agriculture, with the donation of 300 orange and pomelo tree seedlings and fertilizer to farmers in the commune for trial planting. 

The initiative was in line with the National Rural Development Program in the commune and bore initial results. In 2020, with support from AES combined with contributions from local people, infrastructure in the commune has been improved with 100% concrete roads, considered “a miracle” by many local people. 

By 2019, there were no poor households in the commune, while only eight near-poor households remain. The average income level increased significantly to VND47 million per year in 2019. After only a year, in 2019, the garden of Mr. Thang, one of the farmers in the support program, yielded three quintals of oranges and he expects to harvest up to one ton of oranges in 2020.

The initiative contributes to the realization of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 1 No Poverty , Goal No. 8 Decent work and Economic growth and Goal No. 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure.