The Foundation for Social Promotion of Culture, the General Secretary, Monica Bohigues, and the Director of Projects and Cooperation, Macarena Cotelo, traveled to Vietnam in late March, visiting the three places in which the agreement that AECID funds, “Planning and development of ecotourism in the vicinity of the natural reserve of Ngoc Hoa Binh”, is being developed: the city of Hanoi, Hoa Binh City and the Ngoc Son Ngo Luong Nature Reserve.
In the city of Hanoi, after a first meeting with the staff of the agreement in their offices, the Delegation met representatives of AECID and the European Union, as well as with potential local partners, such as REACH or PanNature, and also visited a former partner, Hoa Sua, a training center which was the subject of a project of FPSC, and a factory-private clothing store whose staff with hearing impairment comes entirely from the center.
In the town of Hoa Binh, the delegation met members of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the province, with which various activities have been developed in recent years under the agreement and with members of the Department of Forest Protection of the province, which is the official counterpart of the Convention.
Finally, in the reserve, the delegation met with the forest authorities (Department of Forest Protection), with administrative authorities, the President of one of the communities of the Reserve (Ngoc Son), and civil society: Community Tourism Association (CBET-A) of the reserve, they have received support on the framework of the agreement. Various activities carried out under the agreement also were visited, such as high efficiency furnaces that save wood consumption near the Khop dam, the channel of Mu, the steps of the cascade of Mu and acacia plantations. Finally, there was a meal in a house-hostel (Homestays) built according to planned activities in the agreement and are currently receiving and tourists.