In Mai Chau, Vietnam, there are systemic issues relating to children’s education. Families are forced to make hard choices over keeping their kids in school. With many factors affecting their decisions, many bright kids are taken out of school to help with the workload at home.
Discova initiated a scholarship programme, in conjunction with the village elders as always, to offer financial help to five gifted students to cover schooling for two years, with a view to expanding the project in the future.
And finally, in Manggis, Bali, farmers there requested our help to implement more sustainable farming practices.
Having already assisted the villagers with an irrigation project, our teams in Indonesia set about coordinating specialist guidance. They helped set up organic rice crops and secure a supply chain to sell their farm-to-table products to local hotels.
What’s more, in Manggis, a local women’s group, seeing the work we had done with the rice planting, approached us for help setting up a separate project. Traditionally, within Indonesian villages, many women are subjugated, with duties confined to the home. They are often unable to participate in leading roles within the community.
This is changing, and we worked with a local enterprise that helps enable women to step into these previously forbidden roles. The women of Manggis have started their own organic vegetable garden, thus creating another valuable product for the village.
This is the start of a blossoming partnership with the entrepreneurial residents of Manggis, with exciting plans on the horizon. But, more of that below.