25 March some more reflections from Gavin

It is difficult to write a brief summary of our time in Viet Nam and what we observed and experienced. There are very strong contradictions in the relationship between people and the environment. Viet Nam is developing rapidly. The negative side of this are large open cast mines as we observed in Thai Nguyen, intensification of agriculture and the negative consequences of this as we observed in the Mekong. There is no apparent focus on the appropriateness and consequences of such developments. On the other hand there are official programmes to protect and enhance the environment, many of which are supported by NGOs and foreign government aid programmes. With people offering contacts and then not helping us at all it became impossible for us to see any of the more positive initiatives. However, informally, we found evidence of people acting and working positively for the future in their local communities.

If I think about the challenges posed by climate change in the context of the above then it is clear to me that solutions won't come easily for Viet Nam. Some of the government programmes, such as reafforestation efforts, are having positive impacts as we saw locally in Hue. However, in the 'rice basket' of Viet Nam, the Mekong Delta, the challenges will be very great. There are no easy solutions there. Before we came to Viet Nam our Thai friends expressed concern about intensification of rice production and we heard about the consequences of this. There are areas already affected by drought and seasonal effects of salinisation. Insect pest problems, pollution of waterways, erosion of canal banks, are all local issues that will be further compounded by climate change. The push for increased rice production, with three crops a year in many places now, is not sustainable with these multiple challenges.

The Viet Nam situation is in strong contrast to the growing momentum of the self sufficient economy approach in Thailand. People there, albeit a minority still, are awakening to the consequences of unsustainable practices and there is a groundswell for change, along with a growing awareness of the challenges posed by climate change. In Viet Nam the pressure for economic development is creating all sorts of tensions. The most positive impression I carry is the natural warmth and wisdom of the rural people we encountered. This is where the real hope lies for Viet Nam in my view, if positive ways can be found to empower these people and somehow minimise or overcome the real desperation for money that is so evident to a foreigner in the urban areas. I believe the lessons we carried from Thailand could be of great benefit to Viet Nam.

From Alice in Ho Chi Min City

It's our last day in Viet Nam now and then we're off to Singapore for two days then to India. Well I have to say, Viet Nam has been good and fun, but not as good as Thailand. It has been hard to get stuff to do with interviewing and filming, but in the end it has been nice just seeing this different country. My highlight was going on the Mekong river on a boat trip. The scenery that we saw from the boat was really interesting, I noticed that there was a lot of erosion happening along the banks, but it was good to see that people had planted trees, built brick walls and placed sandbags along the bank to try and prevent this from occurring.

From Lena in Ho Chi Min City

After Thailand we all knew that Viet Nam would be hard in comparison because we didn't have as many connections or any set itinerary. Even though we didn't meet as many good people to interview and film, it was still worthwhile to come here.

The last couple of days we spent further south of Ho Chi Min City, formerly Saigon, in the Mekong Delta area. I liked it heaps cos it wasn't as hot and humid and even if it was, we usually had a breeze to cool down. We had a guide and driver and it was basically like in Hue, just taking our chances when meeting farmers.

Dad especially had to work real hard to get the right sort of information out of people. We noticed that although a lot of farmers were noticing changes in terms of hotter weather, we didn't meet anyone who was doing anything about it. Yesterday, our last day there, we talked with a guy who grew fruit trees along with his mother.

His mother said it was hard for farmers to find solutions to their problems because whenever they went to the government with their problems, the government people wouldn't listen to them. So the farmers don't go to the government anymore and nothing is really done about the problems they are experiencing.

From Karen in Ho Chi Min City

Hi, back in Ho Chi Minh on our last day here, then we fly to Singapore for 2 days, then onto India to Nepal. We have had an interesting few days down on the Mekong Delta. The highlight was going on a boat ride on one of the "nine dragons" of the Mekong river and along one of the many canals. The local name for the Mekong is the "nine dragons" river, which refers to the nine branches that feed out from the Mekong river to create the delta.

It was interesting walking around on one of the islands and visiting a durian tree grower. We also saw a floating market, but were too late to see many of the smaller boats that would have been there very early in the morning. It was relaxing sitting by the Mekong in the evening in a hammock, drinking coconut milk , watching life go by, an endless assortment of boats and produce.

During our time in the delta we were able to film and take photos of the whole rice harvesting process from harvesting by hand, machine threshing, drying it out on large concrete pads, following the sacks of rice as they get put onto boats to go to the storage sheds and then trucked to the main cities. When we eat rice, I never realised there was so much work that goes into producing it.

Love to all Karen

Viet Nam 21 March 2007

We hired a boat, with a boat driver and local guide, from the hotel. The plan was to travel through some of the canals, visit a durian tree farmer on one of the islands and then to a floating market before meeting up with our van.

For the first time in the Mekong I felt as though I could relax and enjoy myself. Karen and the girls all noticed the change in my energy as I became absorbed in filming, talking to the local guide and taking some photos. Driving through the Mekong delta had already caught my imagination… a region with a population of 18 million in 2000 and currently estimated to be 21 million by 2010. A place of people, rice, water, fruit farms, endless bridge crossings over the many canals and larger crossings over the “nine dragons”. Being on the water totally fascinated me.

We eventually came to a bank where we disembarked to visit the ‘wise’ durian grower. As it turned out this was a young businessman and his mother, the Sau Ri family (name of the father), who had converted from rice to durian production about seven years ago with the help of Thai technology and Australian aid. They were extremely nice people, growing durian trees for fruit as well as a large durian tree nursery on their 10 hectares of land.

A happy durian tree grower

These people have clearly acted positively by diversifying away from rice to a very productive fruit crop. The mother talked about the many problems in the area, pollution of water from heavy chemical use, erosion problems from river boats, insect pests in the rice. She commented that the weather is more erratic than in the past, but they don’t have any major issues as durian growers.

Scenes from the one of the ‘nine dragons”, Vinh Long, Mekong delta

Viet Nam 20 March 2007

It had only been the previous afternoon when I learnt the full story about the counterpart of our Thai friends who had offered assistance with contacts. We were now in a situation of having committed to the expense of a car with driver and guide, but no plan ahead of us. Doing his best to help us the guide had made contact with a local vegetable grower but this didn’t hold a lot of interest. So I asked for us to be driven to the next province, Vinh Long, where we hoped at the very least to enjoy a boat trip on the Mekong.

The main artery of the “nine dragons” river flows through Vinh Long province, which is one of the lower lying parts of the Mekong Delta. On arrival in Vinh Long we found accommodation, then lunch, and then out to the countryside. We stopped at a couple of households and talked to people. The two main things that we heard here were that water isn’t a problem for them, because it is in such abundance in this province, and that they are also now experiencing insect pest problems with their rice. When asked if there were some good local farmers worth talking to they said yes there were, but they were about 7km walk away!

By mid afternoon we’d all had enough. So we headed back to our hotel, a sort of resort complex by the river… where we sat outside to enjoy a fresh breeze and the coolness of the air as a thunderstorm passed nearby. Then to a room where the power didn’t come on until 5.30pm and even then the air-conditioning didn’t work properly!

That evening I asked our guide, Nhon, if we could somehow try and find some wise people to talk to along the river. This inspired him to call a TV station who gave him some contacts. It sounded promising for what we had decided would be our last day on the Mekong.

Viet Nam19 March 2007

What initially held a lot of promise became yet another challenge to us, particularly myself. More about this later, but basically a counterpart of our good Thai friends offered to assist with contacts on the Mekong but ultimately failed to provide any useful assistance. So it was left to our very good tour guide, Nhon, to do his best to help us out.

We began our Mekong journey travelling south from HCM city (which many here still call Saigon) to Tien Giang Province. Our destination was a rice farmer in Go Cong Tay district, about 15 km from the coast. We had lunch with Mr Pham Van Tu and his family and then talked with Mr Pham and his son. These two farmers and others we met that day talked about a number of challenges they have to deal with. In the past Mr Pham only grew one rice crop per year, then it increased to two, now many grow three crops per year. Even with two crops they have to manage the second crop carefully, to time the harvest before water levels drop too low and salt water intrusion destroys the crop. Now they are also experiencing hotter weather, problems with an invasive insect pest and generally poorer rice.

Mr Pham Van Tu and his son, with Gavin and our guide Nhon. They talked about the various challenges they are facing.

We then went out into the field, along red dirt roads where many people were drying their recently harvested crop, to film farmers at work harvesting. It is a time of communal effort, with everyone working together to harvest each others crop.

A happy farmer with her crop harvested

The crop bagged from the field to be taken for drying before sale

Hand harvesting of rice

Threshing the rice in the field

Rice being delivered for sale

We learnt quite a lot about the challenges of growing rice in this coastal area of the Mekong. It is clear that farmers have to manage their crop carefully, particularly at this time of year when salt water intrusion becomes much more of a problem. Intensification of cropping, increased fertilizer inputs, invasive insects and poorer crops, are all interconnected problems that are clearly made worse by higher temperatures and drought.

Alice talkng to Emma

Alice, from our hotel in Ho Chi Minh city, talking to Emma in Switzerland

From Hue to Ho Chi Minh city and beyond

As Karen has already talked about we had a long train journey from Hue to Ho Chi Minh city. With more time we would have stopped at a couple of places along the way, but with only 4 full days left in Viet Nam our focus now is to get down into the Mekong Delta.

The first part of the train journey, between Hue and Da Nang, was quite spectacular as we wound around the coastline, in and out of tunnels and with stunning views. Along the way we saw a few bunkers, obviously from the Viet Nam war. In our 4 berth sleeper compartment we had a power connection so were able to plug the laptop in and watch a DVD to while away part of the afternoon. Then it was a fairly short sleep and a very early wake up call!

Ho Chi Minh city has a real buzz to it, which we are all enjoying in our one full day here, although Karen is being affected by the heat a bit at present.

After working very hard to do things in Viet Nam things seem to be coming together for our trip to the Mekong Delta. A contact through our Thai friends is assisting with people to visit and we have a very good guide who is presently organising things.

As I think I mentioned in an earlier post from Hanoi, one of my main goals in Viet Nam has been to do some good work down in the Mekong. This region, the rice basket of Viet Nam, is presently being affected by drought, fire risk and salinisation in some places. I have been partly inspired to go here by a New Zealand farmer, Doug Avery. Doug came here about 2 years ago and when down in the Mekong spoke with a Vietnamese farmer. It was at this time, talking to another farmer about changes in the weather and water supply that he was experiencing, that Doug became convinced that climate change was a reality.

Hi from Ho Chi Min City

Hi everyone, we here in Ho Chi Min city in Vietnam, after a 20 hour train ride from up north in Hue. We had a mad scramble to get off at 4.30 am as we thought the train got in at 5 am. We walked around to find breakfast and will send some photos for blog. We saw the big church. I have not typed for the blog for a while, as we have to pay by the minute and have only 1 computer at times, and time is often scarce.

HCM is VERY busy like Hanoi, lots of motorbikes, markets selling EVERYTHING imaginable. We managed to get some interviews with people back in Hue, a family where the 2nd youngest son stays at home to help his parents tend the family farm and also a community of farmers who had never had European people visit them in their homes before.

No doubt the girls will mention I was so desperate for some jam I wasn't leaving a cafe until I had managed to open a jar of mango and pineapple jam to go with a croissant, which no one else could open ( The girls thought this was really funny).

It was nearly 40 degrees in Hue but luckily a bit cooler in HCM. We saw amazing landscapes from the train, marble mountains, great boulders with houses nestled into the steep slopes, broad flat landscapes, deep forests and yesterday the train went right beside the beautiful coastline, we all stood out in the passage, looking at the sea washing over big boulders as our train went in and out of tunnels.

We are off to the Mekong river delta for 4 days tomorrow, so will continue later Hi to all, we are all well, we all say hi to Emma too. Cheers Karen

18 March 2007 12:15AM local time

17 March 2007 12:42PM local time

17 March 2007 11:57AM local time

16 March 2007

Today was perhaps one of the most challenging days we’ve had. With only one more week in Viet Nam we are working as hard as we can to get out and talk to grassroots people. We organized a van and guide for the whole day, again with the help of Mr Tu. In our discussions we made clear that we wanted to meet farmers away from the coast, people growing a mixture of forest trees, fruit trees, rice and other crops. Our guide didn’t grasp this initially so we started heading in the wrong direction. I sensed this and had to work hard to make clear what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go. By mid-morning we were driving along the banks of the Perfume River, which runs through Hue, towards the hills on the outskirts of the city.

Aside from having to work hard with our guide we were also very challenged by temperatures hitting nearly 40°C and very high humidity.

We managed to meet and talk to two groups of people. The first group was a family, whose land is alongside the main north-south highway. We spoke with Mr Nguyen Chap, his wife Mrs Nguyen Thi Cam, and their son Mr Nguyen Xuan Thoi. They have 6 children, with the one son (aged 23) living and working with them. This family has about 2 ha of land and grows a mixture of citrus trees and a small area of rice.

Mr Nguyen Chap, Mrs Nguyen Thi Cam, their son Mr Nguyen Xuan Thoi

The Nguyen family farm with forest behind

The second group was a small community, who were helping with house extensions for a community member. We interviewed Mr Pham Dung and his sister Mrs Nguyen Thi Quyet. Brother and sister both grow citrus, corn, peanuts and rice crops. The community also works together to plant forest on the slopes behind their houses, with support from the government.

Mrs Nguyen Thi Quyet and her brother Mr Pham Dung with Gavin … very hot even inside

When we started out in Viet Nam I was told that the majority of Vietnamese farmers are poorly educated and ignorant of what is happening around them and in the world. This is an unfortunate perception held by too many people around the world who have little contact with farmers. Without much support in Viet Nam we have begun to focus more strongly on doing things ourselves, working with a guide to find people to talk to. Even our guide here initially had the view that it would be hard to find good thinking farmers, despite coming from a farming family. I think he has changed his point of view over the last couple of days.

The people we spoke to today, along with Mr Khoai yesterday, are experiencing hotter temperatures and more erratic weather. They read the paper and listen to the radio and know that what they are experiencing locally is connected to what is happening global. They understand the problem to be the result of deforestation and industrial development and release of greenhouse gases. These people may not be well educated but they are far from ignorant. We are consistently hearing these people talk about the need to be planting trees and protecting our water resources. They are doing the best that they can in their local environments.

Tomorrow we are catching the train to Ho Chi Minh City, a journey that will take about 18 ½ hours. We will be in HCM City on Sunday and are planning to head south to the Mekong Delta on Monday.

A view across Mr Pham Dung’s farm to their community

Mid afternoon scenes on the Perfume River (above and below)

15 March 2007 Hue Viet Nam

A view of Hue from our hotel room

We managed to do a few things today, with mixed success. In the morning Mr Tu, our contact here in Hue, took us to a small community who are growing vegetables and flowers communally for the local market. It was interesting to see how this group of people is working together in a very positive way.

Watering the community garden in Hue

In the afternoon we hired a car and guide to take us out to the coast, about 15 km away. Our intention was to go to the beach and also hopefully meet and talk to some farmers along the way. The beach itself was a bit of a disappointment for the girls, who were hoping to go for a swim. There seemed to be a few cross currents and we weren’t sure enough about the quality of the water for swimming.

We drove back from the beach on the lookout for a couple of farmers to talk to. Our first stop proved to be unsuccessful. We then met Mr Khoai, from Thuan An Village. He has been growing rice since he was 13 years old, for 40 years now. Mr Khoai grows two rice crops, in the November to January period and in the March/April to May period. He has noticed temperatures getting higher and the weather in general becoming less reliable. The rainy season is tending to be more extreme, with more flooding problems and the dry season is often drier than in the past. His greatest challenge with the less predictable seasonal climate is the timing of his crops. He has to think more carefully about what varieties he grows and the timing of his production. Mr Khoai and other farmers in his village have observed these changes locally and are also aware of what is happening globally from watching television and reading the paper. He said the only solution for them locally is through seed selection and timing of production. His message to people was to keep the environment clean.

Mr Khoai talked about the challenge of less reliable weather patterns, which is making him think more carefully about seed selection and timing of his crop.

14 March 2007

Yesterday morning we visited ‘The Museum of the Cultures of Vietnam’s Ethnic Groups’. After lunch we were headed back to Hanoi to organize our bags before catching the night train to Hue, in central Viet Nam. We arrived in Hue at 10.30 am today and since then have been working to organize things for the next two days. All going well we will be going out to talk to a local farmer tomorrow morning. We’ll see what else happens. On Saturday we are catching the train south to Ho Chi Minh City with a very strong focus on getting out onto the Mekong Delta next week.

From Lena in Hue

We arrived in Hue this morning on the night train from Hanoi; what an adventure we had, so much fun! Ali thought it might be a bit like on the Hogworts Express in the Harry Potter books, but it took longer than it takes them to reach Hogworts.

We haven't done much filming, yet, in Viet Nam because it's taken a while to get organized and try and connect with people. I think we're all feeling frustrated with this, but hopefully we can get some good footage in the rest of our time here.

When we were up in Thai Nguyen we met with Mao (a former student of Dad's) and her family - it was really nice to see them, especially Thuy Linh because we all remember when she celebrated her birthday at Grandma's place all those years ago.

Anyway, Mao took us to meet her in-laws and we all got to go traipsing up the hill behind their house, as her Father-in-law showed us various plants and trees; some with medicine/healing qualities. He was a real character and looked at all of our hands and told us what he could see; I can't repeat what he said though cos that would be telling too much. However, what I can tell you is he said Dad has good hands and people are going to listen to what he has to say.

He also gave Dad a ring with an engraved character on top which means 'Happy'; it's going to be Dad's good-luck charm. It was very emotional and special.

We also went and filmed their family, who were planting trees that day and Mum joined and helped them for a bit. After that we went and meet her Mother, who was very honoured that we visited her; she was a lovely lady.

The only downer on that day was seeing this huge open coal mine towering above all there rice paddie. It created a real scar on the beautiful landscape and this was really sad to see.

From Viet Nam 12 March 2007

Today we drove out to ….. Commune, one of the main green tea growing areas of Thai Nguyen Province. We went to meet with ………, leader of a group of 19 organic growers. These growers have moved to organic production because of health and environmental concerns from heavy use of pesticides in the area. The majority of the growers in this group are presently struggling with both lower yields and lower prices for their product, but are committed to staying organic because of their concerns. Mr ……. is aware that temperatures have been getting warmer, both locally and globally, and that weather patterns are becoming more erratic. However, these don’t seem to be major issues at present. Water is not a concern for them with many ponds in the area. These are fed from nearby Coc Lake, as part of an irrigation scheme. His focus is to build up the soil on his farm. He and others have already noted that the soil has considerably softened in the time that they have been in organic production. More immediate concerns of this group of growers are problems with an insect pest and marketing of their product. They are calling for support to assist them further in their efforts to both improve their local environment and make a reasonable living.

From Viet Nam 11 March 2007

At last, the sort of day I’ve been waiting for since we arrived in Viet Nam a week ago. Mao collected us at 8.30 am with the intention of taking us out to the main tea growing area near Thai Nguyen City. However, as we set out we were discussing options and she talked about her parents-in-law and mentioned that her extended family would be planting trees today. So we turned around and went there instead. It was the right choice. Mao’s home village and her in-laws village are next to each other. To get to both we drove past a massive open-cast mining operation. It was a real education for the girls to see first hand both one of principal sources of climate change (mining and burning of fossil fuels) and one of the principal solutions (planting trees, working and living harmoniously with the natural environment) in one place, in one day.

When we came to the home of Mao’s parents-in-law we were met, and very warmly welcomed, by a very sprightly, vibrant couple … Luu Chi Kien, 78 years and Nguyen Thi Xuyen, 72 years old. We had most of the day, so there was no rush. First was the welcoming ritual of green tea, and also a toast “Chuc Mung Nam Moi” of herb-infused rice wine to the New Year.

11 March 2007: Gavin and Karen with Luu Chi Kien and Nguyen Thi Xuyen

11 March 2007: Lena and Alice with Luu Chi Kien and Nguyen Thi Xuyen

It was very evident that here was a wise couple, people who have been farming the land since they were children and have seen many changes. We set up an interview in their home. They talked about the clearing of forest that happened in the 1960s. Temperatures have become warmer and they are not getting as much water as in the past. They have replanted the forest behind their home garden and are busy planting trees in other areas to protect precious water resources and keep local temperatures cooler. Their neighbours are doing the same. It is clear to them that humans are the source of the problems they are experiencing locally and that they are aware of globally. The solution is simple, to live more harmoniously with the natural environment.

Luu Chi Kien then took us for a walk through his forest and along the way shared his deep knowledge and wisdom about medicinal values of the many plants growing there. He is man full of energy, vitality, humour, compassion and much wisdom. It was a great honour to spend time with him.

After a very simple, delicious, lunch prepared in their farmhouse kitchen we walked along the country path to the place where the rest of the family were busy planting trees. The taxi that we had hired in the morning collected us from there and we drove back towards Mao’s village where we met her mother. It was wonderful to also meet her and unfortunate that we didn’t have more time.