Thach Thi Du sits next to her new livelihood model – eel farming. Photo: AAV/AFV
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“This is the first time I raise eels; after the first yield, I will sustain and introduce this livelihood model to those in my close network.”
That is the sharing of Thach Thi Du, 34, in Sa Binh hamlet, one of 12 poor households in Long Duc commune, participating in training sessions and experiencing the livelihood model of raising eels to improve their lives. Before that, she sold vegetables at the market at 3 am every morning, rain or shine, to feed her two children, 8 and 12, while her husband works as a hired worker. The average monthly income of the couple is about VND4-5 million if the husband’s job is not precarious that month. Du has to borrow a little from her relatives if the house incurs additional costs, as she has no spare money.
Last June, she heard of the model of eel farming from commune officials. As her house is near the river, there is no production land. She, as a result, had to borrow her relative’s land – about 3km from her house – to be able to implement the model. She participated in two training sessions to learn about the economic benefits of eel farming, low-emissions and climate-resilient farming techniques, eel care, and methods of handling problems in the rearing process. Her family gained the support of 2,500 eel breeds, worm breeds, herbal medicines and nutritional products, and materials for pond building. The total cost is about VND30 million. At first, Du still had many difficulties, so she raised eels with spots and scratches. However, with the enthusiastic support and advice of the technical staff, she learned how to disinfect salt to keep the eels healthy.
Du takes daily care of her eels to keep them healthy. Photo: AAV/AFV
Every day, Du feeds the eels three times, changes the water twice, uses a cooling net to shield the eels from leaves, and uses a tarp to avoid the sun. Because the breeding place is far from home, she must walk daily to care for the eels. Complicated as it sounds, she continues to look after the eels regularly. Du’s eels have turned six months since June this year. She can sell them in nearly two months and presumably profit more than VND10 million.
Du takes daily care of her eels to keep them healthy. Photo: AAV/AFV
She can now have a much more independent livelihood in her daily life, no longer worrying and depending on her husband’s salary. Not only can she provide for her family regularly, but Du is also more confident as she is one of the first women to develop a successful eel-raising livelihood model in her community. After the coming yield, Du will continue to develop this model. She will be able to stop selling vegetables late at night to early morning to make ends meet. Shortly, she wants to save her profit to afford an area closer to home, convenient for work and daily care for her children.
Du looks happy with her new job now. Photo: AAV/AFV
Du introduces her new livelihood model and the rearing process for the project donors and partners. Photo: AAV/AFV
The eel farming model is one of the activities to support people in Long Duc commune, wards 8 and 9, Tra Vinh city, to develop more sustainable livelihoods in the face of the adverse impacts of natural disasters and climate change in the Mekong Delta region. This activity is part of the project ‘Strengthening the resilience of communities in dealing with natural disasters – Phase 2” (August 2019 – July 2022) – funded by Bread for the World (BfdW) and Aid for social protection program Foundation Vietnam (AFV), with the financial and technical backing from ActionAid Vietnam (AAV).
In addition to Du’s family, the project supports 12 disadvantaged households in 3 communes and wards with a total of VND398,545,000. Apart from two training sessions, the technical staff also regularly supervises and checks the progress of the model deployment in the area – where the model is located – and provides on-site consultation and support for arising situations in the rearing process.
The commercial eel farming model has high economic efficiency and is easy to implement, especially for poor households without agricultural land and capital for industrial animal feed in the rearing process. In Tra Vinh, with 82.8% of the population in rural areas, mainly Khmer ethnicity and poor households, severe impacts of climate change such as sea-level rise, high tide, and landslides are a constant threat to the livelihoods of local communities here.
