Women who know how to build social media channels to promote their hometown’s culture; women who have become small-scale traders with stable incomes of tens of millions of Vietnamese dong; women who participate in community activities; and women who preserve their ethnic culture - these are the women of Ta Lao (Quang Tri). They are taking part in a black sticky rice cultivation model under the Resilience First project, taking charge of their own lives and changing their destinies amid the lush forests and rugged mountains.
TAKING CHARGE OF THEIR LIVES
Here, black sticky rice is not merely a local specialty; it is also a testament to the changes and development experienced by a group of local women.
We arrived in Ta Lao just as local residents had finished harvesting their summer-autumn rice crop. In the stilt houses, sacks of rice were neatly stacked outside the doors. Ho Thi Kiem, 34, a resident of Ta Lao Village and one of the households growing black sticky rice, said that during the 2026 summer-autumn crop, in addition to cultivating ordinary rice, her family planted three sao of black sticky rice. From this area, her family harvested 400 kg of fresh paddy. At present, this amount could bring the family approximately VND 11 million. She plans to use the money to pay for her children’s education and cover household expenses during the coming rainy season.
With income from selling local products and operating ecotourism activities, Ngam’s family is now building a spacious and sturdy new house in Ta Lao.
To ensure the sustainable development of A Lao Stream, we have brought locally grown agricultural products, cultivated using clean methods without harmful chemicals, into our traditional kitchen to prepare meals for visitors. We also grow black sticky rice and melaleuca trees within the tourist site. We build rest huts and dining shelters using natural materials combined with lightweight materials, ensuring that the ecological environment is protected while also making the structures easy to dismantle when the flood season arrives. In addition, we purchase locally raised chickens, stream fish and various forest vegetables to ensure food safety and freshness for visitors. What is particularly important is that we actively make use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Zalo and TikTok to promote and introduce the tourist site, its dishes and traditional clothing. As a result, an increasing number of visitors have been attracted to A Lao Stream.
CHANGING FOR A BETTER FUTURE
Today, with guidance from local authorities and the introduction of new economic models, residents of Ta Lao no longer rely solely on upland farming. They have learned to combine forestry, livestock raising and even community-based tourism to increase their incomes. Black sticky rice has also become a “high-demand” product, generating higher incomes for local residents.
Facebook pages such as Suoi A Lao, Ho Thi Ngam and Nep tim than Ta Long, run by women in Ta Lao, have attracted tens of thousands of followers. Local products ranging from black sticky rice and melaleuca mushrooms to eggplants and chili peppers are traded and sold, generating tens of millions of Vietnamese dong in revenue. Black sticky rice, in particular, is now sold both within and outside the province.
According to Plan International Viet Nam, the black sticky rice cultivation model currently involves 12 households and continues to be embraced by local residents because it is well suited to local farming conditions, household resources and the role of women. With technical training and support in producing microbial fertilizer, some households have expanded their cultivated area from five sao to nine sao. The products have relatively good market demand, and at times, there has not been enough output to meet demand during the Lunar New Year. According to participating households, income from black sticky rice has become more stable than before, reaching approximately VND 10 million per year from two production cycles. Kiem’s household has maintained the model most effectively and recorded the highest sales volume, thanks to the higher price of black sticky rice compared with other varieties of rice. In response to weather impacts, residents said they could adjust the crop calendar by starting earlier when drought is forecast, or change the crop structure if crop failure is expected.
Ho Thi Thuong, Chairwoman of the Pa Hy Commune Women’s Union, said that with the aim of promoting women’s role in economic decision-making within their families and communities, the Women’s Union and its partners have worked to create a favorable environment for women in villages and hamlets to pursue their business plans. These efforts seek to enhance women’s status while contributing to the development of locally appropriate poverty-reduction models and increasing women’s incomes.
To put this goal into practice, Plan International Viet Nam, in coordination with the local Women’s Union, supported the establishment of a linked group for black sticky rice cultivation combined with livestock raising and community-based tourism in Ta Lao Village. The initiative aims to introduce and promote distinctive products produced, raised, cultivated and processed by women’s union members across the district, while bringing clean and safe products closer to consumers. It also provides an opportunity for livelihood models and women’s union members and women from communes participating in the Resilience First Program to share experiences in entrepreneurship and knowledge about production, cultivation, animal husbandry and product processing. In doing so, the initiative encourages women from different backgrounds to actively engage in production, pursue sustainable poverty reduction and build successful livelihoods.
Design: Mai Anh