Empowering Khmer ethnic minority women in rural water supply project in the Vietnam’s Mekong Delta through gender awareness workshops and women’s leadership training, funded by the LIN Center for Community Development and Narrowing the Gap Program (2018-2019)

The project: Empowering Khmer ethnic minority women in rural water supply project in the Vietnam’s Mekong Delta through gender awareness workshops and women’s leadership training (2018-2019) at An Cu commune, Tinh Bien district, An Giang province is implemented to address objectives, as follows: To increase the participation and empowerment of women in water supply projects, which can create opportunities for women to gain access to knowledge, skills and resources. This access can give increase their confidence and capacity, then improve their quality of life in the communities. Involvement by minority women in water supply projects will not automatically empower them to develop and improve their circumstances. Women’s empowerment only occurs when both men and women work together and acknowledge the importance of each other roles and responsibilities, as well as the importance of sharing these roles and responsibilities. Photo Credit by Mr. Le Van Thich

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Domestic Drinking Water Supply: Khmer Ethnic Minority Women’s Participation and Empowerment in Water Management in An Giang province, Mekong Delta, Vietnam, funded by the Australian Consul-General in HCM City, Vietnam (2017)

The project goal is to increase the understanding of how the disadvantaged members in society especially the women, can be empowered throughout the domestic water supply chain. This study will achieve this by incorporating the knowledge, wisdom, input and needs of the women that are expected to influence the decision making process in relation to domestic water supply in Tinh Bien District, An Giang Province. Such a study is expected to enhance gender equality in water service provision and aid sustainable development of water supply projects in these communities and other An Giang rural areas at large. The following objectives of the project is to improve the living environment for 220 households through improved access to clean drinking water services in two communes in Tinh Bien district, An Giang Province (An Cu and An Hao commune). The following specific purposes are: - Examine current status of water use and management in research sites. - Provide hand pumps for ethnic households in the selected area. - Engage and empower women in water management throughout the domestic water supply chain regarding plan, design, implementation and management of water management from hand pumps provision. Photo credit by Mr. Thai Van Nguyen

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Gender roles and relationships: Khmer Ethnic Minority women’s participation in water use and management – A case study in O Lam village, Tri Ton district, An Giang province, Vietnam, funded by the SEARCA (Southeast Asian Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture), the Phillipines (2017-2018)

The main aim of the research project is to clarify the linkage between gender and water management as well as women’s participation in decision making process regarding water management in the communities. This research has the following objectives: - To identify the current context of water use and its problems that communities face in dealing with water management and the men and women affected by water use problems in their communities; - To examine how water use relates to men’s and women’s livelihood activities; - To understand the participation, roles and responsibilities of men and women related to water use and the decision making process regarding water management in their communities. Photo credit by Mr. Thai Van Nguyen

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WASH and Action Campaign Against the COVID-19 pandemic for Khmer Schools, funded by the LIN Center for Community Development and Narrowing the Gap Program (2020-2021)

The initiative on providing drinking water supply and hand washing systems at two primary and secondary schools in An Cu commune, Tinh Bien district, An Giang province is implemented to address objectives, as follows: • Provide clean water filtration systems (for drinking purposes) and hand washing systems in schools. • Improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in schools about using clean water and practicing sanitation to protect health, especially in the COVID-19 epidemic prevention period. • Improve basic human rights, especially children, to access clean water in the school. • Strengthen community capacity for sustainable and efficient use and management of water resources through the reuse of water from hand washing systems for on-campus greenery. Photo credit by Mr. Thich and Ms. Kim

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Scale up small scale organic farming and trade for female Khmer farmers to improve livelihood, nutrition, health and recover impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in Tri Ton District, An Giang, Vietnam, funded by the Australian Embassy (2021-2022). Founder of Mekong WASHER, a project co-leader to collaborate with Mekong Organics and RCRD/An Giang University

The project is conducted to obtain the following objectives 1/ Establish an organic vegetable grower group (15 households) with support from local authorities. A brand name for the Khmer organic vegetable grower group will be co-developed. 2/ Improve capacity building for Khmer women and local sta?s through a technical training workshop about organic vegetable farming techniques, post-harvest, processing and business skills, linking agriculture-nutrition and health at Tri Ton district and a study tour in Southern Vietnam. The output is presented in a report and a short video about the trip. 3/ Share knowledge and improve capacity building for AAS alumni team at AGU and other Australian alumni to promote agribusiness between Australia and Vietnam. 100 participants who are producers, distributors, and traders of the Southern Vietnam will participate in Vietnam-Australia Agribusiness Forum (VAAF). 4/ Improve awareness, knowledge of the Khmer community about the linking between vegetable production-consumption/nutrition - health through the evaluation workshop. This activity includes a demonstration of nutrition cooking practices using organic vegetables grown by local people. A handbook to record their farming practices, food cooking techniques, consumption, nutrition and health outcomes throughout the project will be published bilingually in Khmer and Vietnamese. This output will be integrated into local government policies. Photo credit by Mr. Nguyen Minh Dang

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Developing partnerships between Australia and Vietnam for organic agriculture movement: training and workshops in two countries, funded by the Australian Embassy (2018-2019) Fourder of Mekong WASHER, a project co-leader to collaborate with Mekong Organics and RCRD/An Giang University

The aim of the project is to develop a new link between Australian and Vietnam for promoting organic agriculture movement through training and workshop. The project has four work packages (WP). The WP1 is to build capacity building for three Australian Awards Scholarship (AAS) Alumni from An Giang University (AGU) about experience and practices of organic agriculture development in Australia, provided by Organic Agriculture Association (OAA), National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA), Canberra Organic Grower Society (COGS), Fenner School of Environment & Society, the Australian National University. In WP2, the AAS alumni team from AGU will develop an organic agriculture Hub entitles “Mekong Organics Hub” at Research Center for Rural Development in AGU. For WP3, the Hub will partner with An Giang Department of Agriculture & Rural Development to organize a Mekong Delta forum on organic agriculture movement in the Southern Vietnam. The aims of the forum are to share the experience of organic agriculture research and development to organic growers, organic agriculture associations, farm extension staffs, local governments, business sectors, and NGOs and to develop a partnership for organic agriculture development in two countries: Vietnam-Australia, led by the Hub. The WP4 is piloting home-based organic gardens with Khmer women farmers. Photo credit by Mekong Organics team members

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Exploring gendered knowledge and inclusiveness in community resilience for flooding disaster. Case studies in Can Tho City (Vietnam) and Cebu City (Philippines), funded by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (2020-2022)

The aim of this study is to take on the exciting and timely opportunity from recent scientific and technological advances and develop an innovative and effective community-based flood risk management strategy to build community resilience to urban flooding from socialist and naturalist perspectives. Specifically, the following objectives are identified: - Understand the key drivers of flood hazards, especially the vulnerable social – hydrological systems and apply a hazard risk analysis framework to quantify flood risk in the case study; - Investigate and understand the historical and cultural implications for gender vulnerability, contemporary resilience building and impacts on socio-economic development; - Adopt a participatory approach to scope a pilot community-based urban flooding management based on qualitative/quantitative data considered as adaptive measures and pathways for enhancing gender inclusiveness and resilience of flood-prone areas, particularly in Can Tho City. - Identify the major challenges in developing community resilience and develop a preliminary approach to measuring community flood resilience. Photo credit by Mr. Nguyen Minh Dang

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GCRF Living Deltas Hub, funded by the UK Research and Innovation Hubs (UKRI) and NERC – Science of the Environment (2019-2024) Founder of Mekong WASHER, a Co-investigator in Work Package 2

The project has six objectives and activities as followed: WP1: Heritage, Livelihoods and Delta Living: pasts, presents and alternative futures WP2: Delta SES characterization and risk assessment WP3:Defining natural baselines, environmental pathways and delta dynamics WP4: Delta-level interventions to respond to and mitigate against foreseeable coastal system tipping points WP5: Improving SDG monitoring: a natural and cultural heritage-sensitive, delta-specific monitoring framework WP6:Creating sustainable development capacity and delivering impact. Photo credit by the Living Delta Hub members

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Mapping inundation areas for sustainable drainage and waterlogging management in the context of climate change at Long Xuyen city of An Giang province

The overarching long-term objective of this project is to build water resilience for urban population of An Giang province against climate change, especially in issues related to drainage systems and urban inundation through innovative uses of EPIC model, stakeholder engagement and academia-governance partnership between university lecturers, researcher, students and city officials and practitioners. To reach that, the specific objectives of the project are: Objective 1: to understand current situations of annual inundation and drainage systems in Long Xuyen City of An Giang Province. Objective 2: to map inundated areas at local wards and central of Long Xuyen City with remote sensing applications of GIS and SAS Planet; Objective 3: to propose initiatives on sustainable drainage and waterlogging management that contribute to the Action Plan on Smart Water City and the improvement infrastructure of sustainable drainage and waterlogging management in adaptation to climate change by 2025.

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Financial resilience among women-owned MSMEs in an ethnically diverse population amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Case studies in the border areas of An Giang province, Vietnamese Mekong Delta, funded by the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and UNESCO Bangkok.

Project objectives: 1. To share in Social media on the financial resilience indicators for indigenous women amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. . 2. To display flyer at the selected project sites, and 3. To organize local meetings on indigenous women and youth’s responses to COVID-19 pandemic. Photo credit by Mr. Thai Van Nguyen

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