In 2017, the Centre for Rural Development in Central Vietnam (CRD) continued to enhance its development and made increasing contribution to the communities in remote areas in the fields of sustainable livelihoods development, natural resources and environmental protection, good governance, social enterprise, child rights governance.

CRD has made great efforts to overcome the challenges in the face of the development context that requires constant capacity building, innovation and creativity to meet the increasing needs of the society. Consensus among CRD leaders and staff has always be maintained, making a solid ground for the organization to affirm its position as one of the leading organizations in Central Vietnam in the field of development. Here are a number of CRD’s outstanding activities that CRD implemented in 2017:

1. Expanding international cooperation

• Welcomed 6 international delegations to visit, set up cooperative relations or sign cooperation contracts with CRD, namely Save the Children International, ICRAF, Saemaul Undong, DFAT, ICCO, FERN
• Continued cooperating with such old partners as Irish AID, Save the Children, and Luxemburg; expanding the cooperation with new partners, namely ECODIT, UNDP, FERN, FAO, and Saemaul Undong.

2. Implementing programs and projects

• Implemented 6 programs and projects
• The project sites cover 5 central provinces/cities: Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da nang and Quang Nam.

3. Supporting the people in sustainable livelihoods development

63 more households have been supported to develop livelihood models such as herbal-fed chicken raising; production of turmeric starch; growing specialty banana (Tieu and Thanh Tien); mushroom production and trading; growing snakehead fish in cement tank; growing flower; raising cows and pigs.

4. Building capacity for the communities

• Held 24 training courses for 516 people and 94 government officials at village, commune and province levels.

5. Advocating for the issuance of 03 policy documents:   

• The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province issued official letters to all the districts and towns in the province to introduce and request the implementation of the “Community Monitoring of Public Investment handbook”.
• The People’s Council of Nam Dong District, Thua Thien Hue Province issued an official letter to announce the recognition and issuance of the “Process of organizing community dialogues”
• The People’s Committee of Phong Dien district issued official letters to request the communes to refer and apply the “Process of organizing community dialogues”

6. Issuing 6 publications:

• Some typical livelihood models implemented by CRD
• The process of establishing a sustainable livelihood model
• The process of developing and operating livelihood development fund.
• Handbook on Community dialogue organization
• Handbook on Community monitoring of public investment
• Introduction about CRD

7. Doing research to create theoretical basis for the approaches to implement programs/projects

• Study on the livelihood models in the communes in the buffer zone of natural reserves in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces.
• The role and sustainability of agricultural cooperative groups in new rural development in Thua Thien Hue province

8. Networking

• Established a network for child rights protection in Central Vietnam and participating in VNGO-FLEGT network
• Established 8 good parenting clubs and 10 children clubs

9. Promoting communication:

• Established and operated one CRG category on CRD website and one Child Rights Governance fanpage on facebook.
• Successfully organized 7 communication campaigns on physical and humiliating punishment (PHP) against children.