In north-western Vietnam, people mainly live off rice farming. However, yields are low and poverty is widespread. There is often a lack of knowledge and self-confidence.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Vietnam/Laos Regional Office
Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World) is a globally active German development and relief agency located in Berlin. The Brot für die Welt-Representative Office for Vietnam has been established in 1996 in Hanoi and extended its operations to Laos PDR in 2007.
How we work
- Our mission is to enhance the capacities of poor and climate-vulnerable communities, so that local people can improve their living conditions.
- Our guiding principles are social and gender justice, ecological responsibility, inclusive socio-economic development, and partner orientation.
- Stakeholder and beneficiaries’ participation, socially responsible and environmentally entrepreneurship, and a focus on ethnic minorities in remote areas are crucial to us.
What we do
- We promote in close cooperation with non-profit partner organizations, universities, research institutes and government agencies sustainable, climate-friendly, and resilient socioeconomic development, with thematic focus on food security and nutrition, value chain development, climate adaptation and mitigation, disaster preparedness and response, biodiversity, and agroecology.
- Additional work areas are digitalization, access to basic services like clean water and health, prevention of human trafficking and gender equality.
Meet the team
Organisational chart
Project in Vietnam "Escaping poverty with cinnamon"
The Yen Bai Women's Union offers training courses in sustainable agriculture. It also initiates community projects such as road construction.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Smaller-scale farmers Ton Hoang Thi and her husband Phuc Ban Huu have also benefited from the support provided by the partner organisation of Brot für die Welt.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
In addition to rice, the two now also grow cinnamon trees. In Vietnam, the spice is part of everyday cooking. It is used to season soups and sauces.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Cinnamon is extracted from the strong, oil-rich bark of the cassia tree. The tree is native to north-western Vietnam.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Ton Hoang Thi now also grows various types of fruit and vegetables in her garden. The organic bamboo shoots are set to be certified soon.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Thanks to the support from the project, the couple can not only provide their son with a balanced diet, but also give him prospects for the future.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Project in Laos: "Well nourished instead of misinformed"
Life is hard in the highlands of Laos. Most people live off the meagre harvests from their fields – including Me Noy and her family.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Many children are malnourished. Dangerous nutritional myths are also responsible for this. Until recently, Me Noy thought that mothers should eat nothing but white rice after giving birth.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Since attending a training course run by the organisation ACD, she knows better. She now grows lots of vegetables and herbs in her garden.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
As a multiplier, she willingly passes on her knowledge to others. ‘Remember the food pyramid, eat as many different things as possible,’ she explains to the women in her village.
© Jörg Böthling
In addition, Me Noy has ensured that school meals are now much more balanced than they used to be.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
Various types of fruit and vegetables thrive in the school garden. Once a week, the children tend to the beds, loosen the soil and carefully water all the plants.
© Jörg Böthling/Brot für die Welt
‘I have always loved my children,’ says Me Noy. ‘Now I can cook them good meals too.’
© Jörg Böthling
Contact Information
Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World)-Regional Office for Viet Nam and Lao PDR
4th Floor
Lakeside Green Building 33 Truc Bach
Ba Dinh ward
Hanoi, Vietnam
Phone: +84 24 3762 6436
Donate now Please support us
Hinweis: Die Spendenbeispiele sind symbolisch. Durch Ihre zweckungebundene Spende ermöglichen Sie uns dort zu helfen, wo es am dringendsten ist.
56 € ( Donation example ) For example, a donation of €56 can help fund a hygiene kit for a refugee family.
100 € ( Donation example ) For example, a donation of €100 can provide vegetable seeds for cultivating around 10 fields.
148 € ( Donation example ) For example, a 2,000-litre rainwater tank can be purchased for €148.
Hinweis: Die Spendenbeispiele sind symbolisch. Durch Ihre zweckungebundene Spende ermöglichen Sie uns dort zu helfen, wo es am dringendsten ist.
56 € ( Donation example ) For example, a donation of €56 can help fund a hygiene kit for a refugee family.
100 € ( Donation example ) For example, a donation of €100 can provide vegetable seeds for cultivating around 10 fields.
148 € ( Donation example ) For example, a 2,000-litre rainwater tank can be purchased for €148.