Developing sustainable livelihoods for ethnic minority women growing coffee in Son La

During its 3-year implementation, the SURE project - Sustainable Livelihood Development for Ethnic Minority Women Growing Coffee in Son La is expected to reach and enhance women's economic empowerment by enhancing climate-resilient livelihood diversification for 1,500 female farmers from local ethnic minority communities.

Located in the Northwest region of Vietnam, Son La province is still one of the provinces with the highest poverty rate in the country. Arabica coffee is one of the province's key crops in the fight against hunger and poverty. Currently, Son La province has more than 20,700 hectares of Arabica coffee cultivation (according to 2023 data), of which Mai Son and Thuan Chau are the two districts with the largest coffee growing areas in the province.

In recent years, coffee cultivation has been greatly affected by unusual weather phenomena such as high temperatures and irregular rainfall, causing crop productivity and household income to face many adverse developments.

85% of Son La's population are ethnic minorities, with the economy largely dependent on agricultural production, which is heavily affected by climate change. Women play an important role in adapting to climate change because they participate in many agricultural production activities as well as daily life.

Ethnic minority women in Son La participate in coffee production

Social surveys show that structural gender inequalities limit women’s access to knowledge, capital, social networks, and decision-making practices related to coping with the impacts of climate change. The burden of unpaid care work further limits the time women can spend on improving their skills and pursuing other income-generating opportunities.

Sustainable Livelihood Development

To partly support women in ethnic minority communities to improve their income from livelihood activities, on March 21, 2024, CARE in Vietnam cooperated with the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Son La province) to launch the SURE project - Sustainable Livelihood Development for Ethnic Minority Women Growing Coffee in Son La. The project is funded by the Starbucks Foundation, implemented for 36 months in 4 communes in Thuan Chau and Mai Son districts.

Attending the event were representatives of Son La Provincial People's Committee, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, relevant departments from Thuan Chau and Mai Son and project implementation team from CARE in Vietnam.

Over the three years of implementation, the SURE project is expected to reach and enhance women’s economic empowerment by enhancing climate-resilient livelihood diversification for 1,500 female farmers from ethnic minority communities in Thuan Chau and Mai Son districts in Son La province.

The Starbucks Foundation empowers communities by changing lives around the world, focusing on building resilience and prosperity and supporting communities affected by disaster.

Established in 1997, the Starbucks Foundation is a registered charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) under United States law.

“Through the Starbucks Foundation’s Origin Grants program, we are proud to partner with nonprofits around the world to support women in coffee, tea and cocoa growing communities with the goal of creating opportunities and ultimately improving lives, through empowering women.

We aim to support everyone in the coffee supply chain, and we know that when we invest in a woman, that investment will create a ripple effect and positive outcomes for her family and the surrounding community,” said Kelly Goodejohn, Director of Social Impact at Starbucks.

The SURE project – Developing sustainable livelihoods for ethnic minority women growing coffee in Son La was implemented for 36 months in 4 communes of Thuan Chau and Mai Son districts.

Strengthening the decision-making capacity of ethnic minority women

Applying CARE’s Women’s Economic Empowerment Framework, the project will design interventions that enhance women’s decision-making capacity to increase benefits for themselves, their families and their communities. This approach empowers women to manage resources, assets and economic opportunities equitably, as well as create lasting changes in social norms and economic structures to benefit women and men equally.

Mr. Le Xuan Hieu, Rural Program Manager of CARE in Vietnam, shared more about the overall goal of the SURE project: “CARE’s comprehensive economic empowerment approach will support women to access resources and techniques to diversify their income sources, improve their farming scale and access to markets. In addition, we also prioritize solutions for climate-resilient agricultural production to help them build sustainable livelihoods. In the long term, the SURE project aims to enhance capacity and increase resources to help local communities, especially women, to be able to carry out effective livelihood activities and be self-reliant in their living environment.”

Delegates attending the project launch conference

The project's interventions are also consistent with the priorities of socio-economic development and the agricultural sector of Son La, aiming to build concentrated production areas and apply measures to adapt to climate change.

“Proactive adaptation to climate change is an urgent requirement for agricultural development. We are deeply aware of the impact of climate change on agricultural production and have taken strategic actions to promote best practices, along with introducing farmers to appropriate adaptation solutions. Integrating and developing agricultural production in each specific sector will require different approaches and we welcome the SURE project to help improve the climate resilience of local farmers,” said Ms. Cam Thi Phong, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Son La province.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/phat-trien-sinh-ke-ben-vung-cho-phu-nu-dan-toc-thieu-so-trong-ca-phe-tai-son-la-20240321154618258.htm