Green Vietnam.

"Wherever you see green, thats our land. Where its empty and dry, thats some other farmers'."

I just spent a few wonderful days out at the organic farming project "Green Vietnam" with Quang, the manager of the project, and his amazingly kind family.

You do not have to be a very experienced farmer to notice that something is terribly wrong with the farming practices of Tuyen Quang Province. There are many patches of land, with the property lines visible, with nothing growing. After a few days with Green Vietnam I am starting to understand why. Quang tells me, "They have bad varieties, bad techniques and no markets. And now they are poor and desperate." About ten years ago, someone from the department of agriculture gave seedling and trees to the farmers but it was a bad variety and never yielded any crop. Many farmers have turned to cassava, a labor intensive, ecologically unsound and not profitable crop and also to genetic corn. "It's a mess." He tells me.

Arriving to this farm, however, I see rows and rows of orange trees, with pinapple or chilis as the undercrop. I also see several small vegetable gardens and a woman kneeling down, gathering greens for dinner. Chickens roam freely, doing their part in the gardening. Green Vietnam obviously has a different perspective.