Over the past 2 years, a group of women in An Hai Bac Ward, Son Tra District, Da Nang have taken advantage of a vacant land in their residential area to grow a variety of organic vegetables for sale.

Women choosing bundles of fresh vegetables at Chau’s house

The money collected from the sales went to a fund operated by the ward-level Women’s Association which aims at presenting gifts to children and women with difficult circumstances in the ward.

On the 30^th day of each day, bundles of fresh vegetables are on sale at a small house at 735 Ngo Quyen Streets, owned by Mrs Nguyen Thi Chau, the Head of a Women’s Chapter in the Ward.

On a visit to this monthly sale programme at Chau’s house, the first of its kind in the ward, anyone really feels secure to buy organic agricultural products, and especially enjoys the bustling atmosphere. The sellers here carry on their work with a touch of human sympathy.

In the past, the problem of environmental pollution and the overgrowth of grass at this vacant lot had yet to be resolved effectively, and this caused the proliferation of mosquitoes.

Seeing that it is a huge waste to leave the land, the ward’s women sought permission from the municipal government to grow vegetable on it.

Mrs Tran Thi Nhung said, over the past 2 years, her family fully tapped the potential of hundreds of square metres at the vacant site of the displaced An Hai Ward Broadcasting Station to grow vegetables for sales at Chau’s house.

Since mid-July, a total of nearly 10 million VND collected from the sale of organic vegetables has been spent on presenting gifts to poor children and women in the ward at Tet and on other special occasions.

Growing vegetables on vacant land is considered as an ideal way to ensure adequate supplies of safe agricultural products to local families, and also importantly, to help needy children and women overcome their financial difficulties.

One of the ‘shoppers’ at the monthly sale programme at Mrs Chau’s house, Ms Dinh Thi Ngoc Lan highly appreciated the great significance of this model in bringing benefits to the community, especially the needy.

This woman said, in the past, her family lived below in the city’s poverty thresholds. Fortunately, the municipal Fatherland Front Committee and the ward-level Women’s Association were actively engaged in appealing for donations from the public to help Mrs Lan’s family build a new house. With a new house, her family members no longer worry about strong wind and storm every stormy season.

Experiencing the hardships and challenges in her life, Mrs Lan has raised her awareness of helping poor others. She usually makes the purchase of organic vegetables on display at  Chau’s house as a meaningful activitiy to help the needy, and an act of paying the debts of gratitude she owed to generous philanthropists who wholeheartedly assist her overcome moments of hardship.

Apart from selling organic vegetables, the ward-level Women’s Association members have been actively engaged in collecting leftovers for sale to pig breeding facilities in an attempt to raise money for the poor.