VRE believes in giving people the tools to improve their lives for the long term. To that end, we are focusing on two new self-sustaining farming projects with the hope of raising families and communities out of poverty.

In Tien Giang province, we are working with Phuoc Trung villagers in the Go Cong district to raise goats in ways that are economically and ecologically sound. Most people currently make a living here by growing rice and raising some aquatic products; average income is about $17 a month.

The project, which targets women participants, will provide 50 struggling farm families with 100 goats and 5 high-quality bucks within 3 years. An additional 100 goat farmers will benefit from a revolving fund that will help them develop successful commercial goat operations.

VRE has already established a strong presence in this district by building schools, providing scholarships, and conducting twice-a-year medical checkups. That presence will help strengthen the trust and partnership with local people in order to run the goat-raising project more effectively.

The project's participants will be broken into groups of 5-7 people and trained on basic animal management, specifically stall-feeding of livestock. Participants will also learn about gender justice, and savings and credit responsibilities. This program follows the model of Grameen Bank, the first community development bank started in Bangladesh.

VRE is also working to develop pig-raising farms with families in Binh Lang and Binh Tinh communes located in Tan Tru district of Long An province.

The program would empower the communes’ women, approximately 40% of which have no jobs. VRE’s funding toward this project will allow 60 families to buy female pigs (sows) and feed baby pigs.

Through the project, each family would buy and vaccinate two pigs. When the pig is fully grown, each family can earn money by selling it or breeding it and raising piglets.

A goal of the program is for community members to set up a Pig Raising Association, which will hold periodic meetings to share information on everything from farm management to swine disease. Experienced farmers can serve on the board and teach others successful techniques. The association would also play a role in selecting households to participate in the pig-raising project.