Further, very limited space exists for the village communities to reflect on the experience and lessons learned to improve working methods and tools that could really fit with the women and the youths. Unfortunately, Namsat and Houaphou village do not have any funding to support poor rural communities, but they have plenty of red mushroom natural resources with local actors to generate income to their families. experimenting with this new method and structure of the multi-stakeholder workshop will require new funding sources. If BNDA could be funded to continue to support this activity of new methodology including PPA and GALS, it could create good outcomes through to multi-stakeholder’s dialogue, and sustainable value chain development through income generation to poor community and especially the villagers and private sector to increase the capacity in the long-term production and trade strategy planning, visibility and stake-ownership in bamboo value chains development after the project phase-out. Especially, these 2 remote villages. There are 2 villages Namsa and Houphou village in Hiem district involve in the red mushroom chain are affected by poverty (The social economy of Huaphanh province, 22 January 2021), while there are 2 villages with 105 households, 133 families, 620 populations with 290 women, and 28 poor households, there are 5 households of people with disabilities and 6 people with disability. It is including elders, adults, young, disabled, and children. Empowering the ethnic women and young generation through sustainable natural resource management and value chain development with improving their socio-economic rights by using inclusive participatory approach and Gender Action Learning System. Specific Objective (SO) 01: To enabling of the producer groups (PGs) creation through different training and analysis with the villagers the importance of collective coordination and production through strengthening the group with clear roles and responsibilities that will best use the specialized skills of men, PWD, and women in the villages. This emphasizes teamwork, negotiation skills, and market linkage and access. This also includes PG development plan in the future after the project phases out, PG can continue and work with their PG members; Expected Result 1: Village representatives, women, PWD and youth representatives, and relevant government partners reflected shared experiences and lessons learned on method and tools used for income generation and resources management, gender issue and women and youth involvement Reflections contributed to improving, adapting the methods and tools to fit with villages and also how best to include women and youth

“No one in this world wants to be discriminated against, nor should the capabilities of ethnic women and youth be shut down, including through gender inequality in families and communities. Women can be leaders too, not just men” 

Introduction 

Inequality between men and women is still evident in some communities, where women bear the burden of important family duties such as housework, finding food, farming rice, raising animals, growing crops, and collecting forest products to sell for income. There is often no clear family development plan, and women’s participation in family decision-making remains minimal, with power and decisions largely in the hands of the husband. Consequently, women and youth lack opportunities and be hindered to show leadership. In response to the issues above, we, BNDA, coordinated with public sector partners to support ethnic women and youths in Nam Sard Village and Hua Phu Village in Hiem District, Hua Phan Province with the project, “Empowering Ethnic Women and Youth Through the Use of Gender Action Learning System (GALS).” 

Main Content  

Over the 15-month duration of the project, 26 families have embraced the idea of self-improvement and actively engaged in learning. They have shared their experiences using the GALS tool with other village members, reducing discrimination and prejudice. Husbands and wives have become more open to each other’s ideas, with inclusive family planning becoming more common. Husbands have started giving their wives the opportunity to participate in various training sessions. The project has also led to village meetings where the successes are shared with other villagers and reported to the association team. Government recognition has followed, and the positive changes have been attributed to the effective training of couples together, which has fostered meaningful and constructive learning. Ms. Khambang, from Nam Sard Village, Hiem District, Hua Phan Province said – “I am very glad to have had the opportunity to participate in this project. Great changes start with shifting our thinking and behavior. I learned to plan life goals and family planning, which gave me the courage to develop myself and eventually become the chief of Nam Sard village. I am committed to sharing these lessons with village members to foster a more peaceful and harmonious community.”  

Because of the lessons and experiences, she gained from various sources as well as this project, she found the motivation to develop herself. With the support of government, rightsholders and people in the village, who raised the role of women and provided her with opportunities, she was accepted and became the head of Nam Sard village—the first woman to hold this position in Nam Sard village, Hiem District, Hua Phan Province. Previously, her family did not understand or support her participation in meetings and training outside the province. They were introspective, often using insulting words and showing little respect for me as a woman. But currently they accept and are very proud of her.  

The challenges in working with the community include communicating in the local language and navigating the customs and culture of the tribe, unacceptance regarding the capabilities of women, which often results in their abilities being overlooked, the arrangement of the activity does not coincide with the convenience sometimes, lack of understanding of the seniors that prevents women-young people from creating future successors, men don’t want women to participate in learning, customs, communication is difficult, having to use ethnic language in work. Therefore, BNDA has collaborated with public sector partners and the rightsholders group to plan inclusive activities. We have scheduled training sessions to align with the free time of the target group and created a platform for discussing and evaluating the needs of women and youth in building their capacity. Additionally, we have separated male and female groups during work sessions to allow each group to express their ideas and visions, and to address and resolve issues specific to their families and the community. 

We have employees in the association and public sector partners who are from the Khmu ethnic group, so communication with the rightsholders group is not a barrier. Rightsholder groups from the two villages, along with village administration and government officials at the district and provincial levels, are actively contributing to the project. This collaboration helps villagers learn, improve, and change, supports family economic development, and builds women and youth into community leaders, opening opportunities for women to demonstrate their leadership abilities. 

We have employees in the association and public sector partners who are from the Khmu ethnic group, so communication with the rightsholders group is not a barrier. Rightsholder groups from the two villages, along with village administration and government officials at the district and provincial levels, are actively contributing to the project. This collaboration helps villagers learn, improve, and change, supports family economic development, and builds women and youth into community leaders, opening opportunities for women to demonstrate their leadership abilities. 

Despite many achievements, ethnic women and youth groups still need support in several areas. These include developing a rightsholder group into trainers to train others in using the GALS tool, fostering leadership, and organizing meetings at the provincial level to share successes. Many communities also need support like these two villages, but they lack sufficient funding. 

Summary 

Although the project has ended, its implementation revealed many impressive outcomes. Women and youth in the community actively participated in learning and sharing experiences, leading to changes in how families, communities, and villagers perceive women and youth. They became leaders, motivating and serving as role models for other young women in the village. We documented this learning and change through a video and a written story, which were showcased on the closing day of the Voice program on April 8, 2024. Beneficiaries participated and shared experiences through short drama acting, and we posted updates on the BNDA Association’s Facebook page 12 times. We will publicize this success and use it as an example for future projects, sharing lessons from the successful villages of Nam Sard and Hua Phu with other villages and districts to foster women leaders in the community.