November fills the commune of Huong Phung (Quang Tri province) with the hustle and bustle of the prime coffee harvesting season.

“The cherries are ready to be picked! When will the company from Hoi An come to buy them?” Ho Van So, head of Xa Ry Village coffee group says in excitement while looking at the ripe coffee cherries glowing in the autumn sun.
Xa Ry is one of seven coffee groups in Huong Phung commune (Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province) participating in contract farming as suppliers for Hoi An Roastery and a local household coffee processing unit.

The partnership was established with the support from the Medical Committee Netherlands – Vietnam (MCNV) and has been growing robustly over the years, fueling the confidence in a bright prospect of a sustainable coffee supply chain.

However, amidst the complication of COVID-19, for nearly two years, this promising model has been struggling with the risk of being shattered. The challenge forces businesses to formulate an adapting strategy and look for new resources for development. In order to facilitate the coffee supply chain access to the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development, MCNV has initiated a project titled: “Agroforestry coffee production of Hoi An Roastery & Arabica Coffee Smallholders in Quang Tri province, Vietnam.”

The project aims at promoting contract farming and certified coffee production to enhance the supply chain, contributing to the sustainable development of coffee production in Quang Tri.

In 2021, the project marks a significant milestone by participating in the Rainforest Alliance (RA) certification program period 2021-2025 with a vision toward 2030. If the program is fully implemented, it will help increase farmers’ income, enterprises’ profit margins and contribute solution to tackle various social, environmental concerns as well as crop quality and productivity-related issues.

Before the project is implemented, most of the coffee was sold to middlemen. According to Ho Thi Nuong, a female member of Xa Ry coffee farming group, bargaining was impossible as they could not reach out to any other buyer.
The farmers therefore had no choice but scramble to sell their coffee. Limited market access and low level of market penetration has led to uncontrolled harvesting, lowing down the quality of processed coffee beans and threaten to reduce yields of the next harvesting season.

Farmers, at the same time, were trapped in a circle of numerous concerns including unstable coffee price, crop yields, fertilizer purchase and inadequate cultivation techniques. Most of them acquire fertilizer on credit and can only settle the payment once they receive cash from coffee buyers. This leads to complete reliance on middlemens, who play the role of both fertilizer supplier and coffee buyer.

“Thanks to the project, we are now harvesting coffee cherries following the RA standard. The quality is improved and the price is increased. All participating groups are enabled to bargain with the buyers before signing a contract. Payment for coffee sale is made in due time, facilitating farmers to pay for the fertilizer they bought on credit. Things are getting better!”, Nuong says.

Sharing the views of Nuong, Ho Van So adds:
“In 2020, I began to remove old low-yield coffee trees to plant around 2,000 trees per hectare. Quality is more important than quantity. Less trees also means less fertilizer. At the same time, we are growing other kinds of trees such as peppers to generate more income and provide shade for coffee trees.”

In October 2021, a series of workshops was organized by MCNV to give farmers an overview of the RA certification, in particular the criteria that must be met.
“At the beginning, it was so hard to get used to activities like writing farm diary and doing garden monitoring,” says Vo Chanh Thi (Dai Do village).

“Nonetheless, step by step, we have found out that this practice is highly beneficial. In addition to improving coffee quality and quantity, this model helps farmers feel confident since it ensures a stable and favorable price. Not only can they sell coffee at a higher price, they also get an extra income in accordance with a so-called “Sustainability Differential’’ policy when participating in the RA certification.

Seven groups of farmers (over 50 members) have taken part in the contract farming model of 2021, of which nearly 40% are people of ethnic minority. According to the farming contract, coffee cherries are sold to enterprises at significantly higher-than-market price.

MCNV plays a facilitating role in this coffee supply chain by providing support, consultation and monitor to the entire process, including the establishment and capacity development of farmer groups, contract negotiations and signing, coffee supply and processing, bookkeeping, quality control, and development of a monitoring and evaluation system. In addition, MCNV has connected the beneficiaries with a local bank to open individual bank accounts, ensuring the transparency and timeliness of payment.
Based on the current progress, the year 2021 is expected to be a great stepping stone for the journey toward RA certification./.

Huong Hoa, a mountainous district of Quang Tri province is well-known for a chilling climate and magnificent natural landscapes. Since transport infrastructure is vastly improved, the locality has become a popular getaway destination for visitors in and out of the province.

According to Quang Tri provincial television, the idyllic beauty of waterfalls is a prominent feature that make Huong Hoa stand out. With the alluring view of cascading water, misty fresh air and the refreshing sensation of dipping in a natural plunge basin, a waterfall pleases multiple senses at the same time. Leaving behind the bustling urban life, trekking, swimming or going picnic at a waterfall site amidst the lush green nature seems to be a perfect choice for recreation.

In a remote locality like Huong Hoa, the experience seems even more appealing since most of the waterfalls are left unmanaged, and therefore, no entrance or service fee is charged. Visitors can do whatever they like as long as they wish at a waterfall site. This factor, at the same time, also means the increase of safety risks, due to numerous seen and hidden hazards. Extra strong current and whirlpools, unseen logs and boulders, steep rock cliffs, any of them can easily lead to falling or drowning accidents, especially when people lack of vigilance and survival skills. Furthermore, due to the isolated location, the likelihood of getting immediate medical attention at a waterfall is very low.

In the last four years, at least two drowning deaths were recorded, at Chenh Venh waterfall (Chenh Venh village, Huong Phung commune), with the latest happened in May 2020. In addition to claiming lives, unmanaged tourism also puts the environment at risk, due to littering, improper smoking, irresponsible campfire, etc.

In order to unleash the potentials of natural and cultural resources in a sustainable way, the People’s Committee of Huong Hoa district has come up with a comprehensive plan on community-based tourism. Part of the plan is dedicated to turning local waterfalls into established tourism site.

As a long-standing partner of Quang Tri province and Huong Hoa district in particular, MCNV is joining the local authority in this initiative. The first step is turning Chenh Venh waterfall into an established tourism site and is implemented as part of the project “Promoting sustainable partnership between CSOs and enterprises for sustainable forest management in the context of climate change” (PROSPER), co- funded by the European Union.

Currently, key infrastructure at Chenh Venh waterfall site has been completed, including upgrading staircases, installing information board, protective barriers, hazard signs, dust bins and building bamboo huts for tourists.

At the same time, a group of on-site tourism staff is established, with the majority recruited from the village’s forest protection team and the residents living close to the waterfall. The staff is tasked with collecting entrance fees, providing huts renting services, maintaining safety and sanitation at the site. Along with first aid packages and personal floatation devices, the staff has been equipped with basic first aid skills, thanks to a course joinly conducted by MCNV and local health centers.

According to the management board of Chenh Venh waterfall site, during the recent national public holidays (from April 28th to May 1st), the total proceedings collected from entrance fees (VND 10,000/1 person) and hut renting fees (VND 120,000/hut) was VND 4 million – a relatively large amount to a remote mountainous village like Chenh Venh. Half of the proceeding was paid as wage for the staff, while the rest went toward Chenh Venh village’s Forest Protection Fund.

In the time to come, food and beverage stalls will be set up at the site to provide tourists with the fresh taste of local specialties. At the moment, MCNV is working on preparing the staff with requisite skills in tourism services, such as reception, tour guiding, food hygiene and safety, etc.

The initial outcome of Chenh Venh waterfall site transformation signals a promising future of a bigger project titled “Developing Chenh Venh ecotourism village” jointly implemented by MCNV and Huong Hoa district. The project is implemented based on the advantages possessed by Chenh Venh village in terms of climate, natural landscape, agriculture and geographical position.

Located on the Ho Chi Minh trail which connects Quang Tri with the world-heritage Phong Nha-Ke Bang cave, Chenh Venh village is where the authentic cultural identies of Van Kieu-Pa Co ethicity are well preserved, with tradional occupations like bamboo rattan handicraft, brocade weaving, straw liquor making.

With the sponsorship worths VND 650 million (~EUR 25,000) from MCNV, the project is implemented in the second half of 2021. From July to the end of year, MCNV will work together with local authorities, technical consultants and local residents to complete requisite features of a tourism village, including: rebuilding Bru-Van Kieu ethnic stilt-house, setting up specialties pavillion, constructing clean water system, upgrading vegetables, flowers gardens and livestocks shelters; renovating pavements, roads; etc.

In addition to natural landscapes, Huong Hoa district is famous for numerous tourist attractions including Khe Sanh Victory Monument, Ta Con Airport, Sa Mu pass, etc. In 2019, the number of overseas visitors to Huong Hoa district was estimated at 14,000. Currently, due to the complication of COVID-19, the tourism industry in Vietnam and the world is temporarily ‘frozen’. In the future, when the pandemic is well controled, Chenh Venh ecotourism village is expected to contribute to the recovery of tourism in Central region in particular and Vietnam in general./.