Project poster (PDF)

Water

Vietnam

Building a canal

In Dong Lai, a village in Vinh Phuc province, nearly 40 percent of the population lives in poverty. People earn a living through agriculture, but the quality of their crops depends on how accessible water is. There is no water resource in the village, and farmers buy water from lakes in a neighboring village. The lakes are far away, and the water farmers can get often is not adequate for all the fields.

Village residents pooled contributions to buy a pump and repair the pumping station near the lake. However, the pumping station only provided water to families close to the station. The village wanted to be able to provide water for more farmers in the community.

MCC is helping the village build acanal and organize a cooperative to manage it. The farmers contribute labor and an irrigation fee to help maintain the irrigation system. Some 100 families are benefiting from the canal. They have now been able to plant three crops per year instead of two, and the yield on the crops has increased 10 to 20 percent. The cooperative project encouraged the community to work for other advances in the region.

If contributions to a project exceed the amount needed, MCC will use the donations to support similar projects.