Culture awakens aspiration to escape poverty

Amidst the mountains and forests of the Northwest, the livelihood activities of indigenous women still revolve around familiar jobs: tour guiding, weaving, selling souvenirs, and farming/harvesting agricultural products. However, the income women earn from these activities remains relatively low.

Established in 2018 with only nine members, the Muong Hoa Cooperative in Ta Van village (Lao Cai) then relied solely on a few small stalls serving tourists. "There was almost no internet in the village, so none of us dared to think about selling things online," recalled Ms. Sung Thi Lan, Director of the Muong Hoa Cooperative. Then the pandemic hit, forcing the Cooperative to shut down for three months. "The whole group sat looking at each other, worried about what was going to happen next."

The turning point came when the Cooperative participated in the Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT), funded by Australia. Through the program, Ms. Lan accessed the Initiative for Inclusive Digital Acceleration Program (IDAP) by KisStartup, beginning their journey of business model transformation.

From there, the women joined training courses on digital transformation, learning how to use Facebook and Zalo to promote their products and to build the official fanpage of the Muong Hoa Cooperative. “At first we were really clumsy, but over time we got used to it. Week by week, month by month, we learned to plan our own posts and take better care of product images. The happiest moment was selling our first order online,” she said with a smile.

At the same time, Ms. Sung Thi Lan assigned tasks according to each person’s strengths: some are good at dyeing fabric, others at embroidery, others at sewing. The total number of participants has grown to more than 300, with embroidery being the largest group. Hand embroidery requires great patience and meticulous work; a small piece can take several months, even up to a year, to complete. Therefore, members usually work in their spare time, after cooking, taking care of their families, or participating in village activities.

Members regularly support one another in coordinating posts, promoting products, and finding customers online. Gradually, the cooperative became more stable, generated revenue, and attracted students to help develop online tourism activities, charge visitor fees, and create funds to sustain operations and pay local people for their work.

At present, the cooperative’s groups are spread across many provinces: Dao ethnic embroidery groups in Lai Chau; product collection groups in Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai), Moc Chau (Son La), Ha Giang, Tam Duong (Lai Chau), and Dien Bien. Each color and pattern on the products is a combination of contributions from different ethnic groups, brought together to create complete products that meet market demand.

In terms of human resources, each group has a team leader or focal point responsible for coordinating tasks, receiving materials, distributing products, and handling orders. This operating model enables the cooperative to maintain its scale and manage operations effectively, even though its members are spread across many locations.

At the same time, the Muong Hoa Cooperative has expanded into experiential tourism, developing workshops tailored to visitors’ needs. For example, if guests wish to learn beeswax batik, a dedicated group is assigned; if they want to learn embroidery, the embroidery group takes charge. Herbal baths, meals, accommodation, and sightseeing tours are also handled by separate teams. Each group is responsible for a specific component, allowing visitors to enjoy a comprehensive experience while enabling local people to participate flexibly in the work.

“Beyond creating sustainable livelihoods, the role of women within the family, especially as mothers and wives, has changed in a positive way. In the past, according to local customs, men were considered the main breadwinners. Even when women raised chickens or ducks, selling them often required the consent of both husband and wife to ensure a fair price.

However, as women gain more stable incomes, their roles and voices within the family have been significantly strengthened. They are more confident and are able to take part in important household decisions,” Ms. Lan shared.

According to Mr. Vu Hai Phong, a representative of KisStartup, the project’s greatest achievement has been a comprehensive shift in both business mindset and business model. Under KisStartup’s guidance, the Muong Lan Cooperative has learned how to select products that can best showcase local cultural values. Building on this foundation, the cooperative has developed experiential tours such as indigo dyeing and beeswax batik, and is planning a small museum model combined with digitalized heritage in the near future.

At the same time, the cooperative has gradually begun to make use of leftover materials for recycling, creating new products and moving toward a green production model while targeting niche markets in sustainable fashion.

“First, we provided local people with basic knowledge and tools through a series of training sessions. Then we moved on to coaching each member and each specific case, helping the women apply those tools directly to their own business models.

In addition, KisStartup mobilized a wide range of experts to support the refinement of these business models. Most of the women studied in the evenings, and the program was designed to be highly flexible. In some cases, for example, women selling fruit were even guided on how to process spoiled fruit into other products such as dishwashing liquid, creating entirely new value,” he said.

According to Australian Ambassador to Viet Nam Gillian Bird, the GREAT Program not only empowers ethnic minority women economically in the agriculture and tourism sectors, but also helps drive policy reforms and improvements in the business environment, ensuring that women’s economic empowerment is sustained and developed in a long-term, sustainable manner.