Hi everyone!

ADRIEN: SOWING THE AGRO-ECOLOGY SEEDS

After more than 6 months of work, initially with Florian then alone, Adrien, our young engineer in agro-ecology has brought about a positive and perennial mindset to the agroforestry project participants.
Implementing natural plants fertilisation and protection systems in parallel to the planning of a fixed periodic maintenance schedule, he has achieved renewed vitality and productivity of the orchard. For the first time in 3 years, we produced mangoes and we should double last year’s pomelos crop!

The park’s Infrastructures have been improved in order to facilitate the daily works. The many paths winding through the whole agropark area now allow for a much easier access to the trees for gardeners and a nicer stroll for the lodge’s customers. Visitors will soon be able to enjoy synoptic explanatory panels in 3 languages (French, English and Vietnamese) put up along the walking paths, describing both the agropark and other eco-friendly projects on the lodge site, emphasizing what makes La vie Vu Linh a truly different touristic development project.

BERTRAND: DEVELOPING THE CULTURAL PROJECTS

During the 3 weeks of my volunteering programme, I was charged with 2 specific tasks in connection with LVVL cultural preservation commitments towards the “White Pants“ Dzao traditions.

ALICIA: FACING EDUCATION’S HARD REALITY

Alicia arrived at Vu Linh introduced by one of the agro-engineers. She stayed over 2 months: “my main task was to teach foreign languages (French, English, Spanish) to the Lodge staff and to children from surrounding villages. I started up with a quite ambitious work timetable: 4 English courses, 3 in French and Spanish, about 1 hour each, every week. After a week, we gave up French and Spanish lessons: the staff preferred to focus on English and avoid confusions with other languages. Later in July, as the lodge occupation rate increased, the staff could not reconcile the tuition sessions with the daily service works, and we had to put a de facto end to the lessons. Attempts have been made to try and resume the courses, but all failed due to a lack of motivation from both parts.

As for children and teens, the timetable was more variable and flexible due to requests from the youngest as well as my own availabilities restrictions. I was confronted to two harsh realities that prevented me from successfully implementing the intended plan. First, I was a newbie in the field of education and I failed to organise myself properly to propose both the staff and outside kids interesting and attractive courses topics. Second, I do not speak Vietnamese and the language barrier prevented any real communication to happen. I could only rely on a few dictionaries and the Internet for translating. The lessons were much less lively than I had hoped for and I felt the pupils unfocused.

Despite this relative failure, I do believe the staff and outside children are very motivated to learn English. But what is really needed at Vu Linh, is volunteers with teaching knowledge and experience, able to interest and lure them into focusing. Obviously, speaking Vietnamese would be even better!”

LÉA: ALL DOWN TO DAILY OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT!

Léa: “I spent a month and a half at LVVL completing my internship in Vietnam as Executive Management Assistant, observing the management style of this outstanding establishment.
Outstanding, both in terms of its exceptionally beautiful location and for the ambitions of its concept. Indeed, the eco-lodge’s ultimate goals are multiple and do represent some real human challenges; to stick to the wish to preserve the local Dzao Cultural environment while responding to the lodge international customers desire for high quality services (as required to reach as soon as possible the financial break even) seems like a far reaching target. It is certainly possible to provide jobs to local Dzao minority people to improve their lives while allowing them to keep their lifestyle.
However, this may clash with the demand for high-quality service (regarding reception, accommodation, food..) expressed by a certain segment of the clientele. On site services provided should be delivered with stricter discipline and care. At present the Lodge has no Local Manager with an appropriate profile and skills to convince of the need for, and to enforce such stricter working framework. It’s a waste as the Lodge would gain a lot from it! The project owners, conscious about this difficult situation, are reflecting on the various possible responses, having also to cope with an overall fragile and still negative financial position.

IN SHORT

LA VIE VU LINH NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

• the Biogaz & Water Phyto-Purification projects by convincing more families in the lodge vicinity to install the eco-friendly technologies in their farms to improve their daily life;
• The second phase of our Agroforestry project in the framework of a 5 years Business Plan. The Plan foresees the project to be able it should generate enough revenues to contribute to the overall LVVL project. Meanwhile, showcasing the success of this alternative form of agricultural exploitation should help convince local farmers to get away from current harmful monocultures… and hopefully lead to the creation of a Green Floating Market on the Thac Ba Lake;
• the continuous teaching efforts at the School by the actual implementation of a few active sessions per year;
• the concrete implementation of the cultural projects initiated in 2016 and the organisation of the annual Vu Linh Cultural Festival at the end of April celebrating the project’s anniversary.
• In order to be able to finance the Action Plan above La Vie Vu Linh will need, in addition to the help of all volunteers wishing to contribute, the financial assistance of our existing and future “sponsors”.