IUCN, Vietnam's An Giang province launch project on lotus silk-making

02 Jun '23

2 min read

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Insights

The International Union for Conservation of Nature Vietnam along with An Giang Province in the Mekong Delta has launched a project to develop lotus silk-making as a sustainable occupation for communities, especially women.
It will be implemented in the An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An provinces till 2025.
Lotus cultivation will be supported on 120 hectares.

A project to develop a sustainable value chain of products from lotus silk has been launched by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Vietnam (IUCN) in cooperation with An Giang Province in the Mekong Delta. The project is financially supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF).

Focused on developing lotus silk-making as a sustainable occupation for local communities, especially women, the project’s target is to promote flood-based livelihoods using lotus cultivation to support flood retention areas and restore some of the 4 billion cubic metres of water that was lost between 2000 and 2011 in the delta.

To be implemented in the provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An till 2025, the project will offer farmers technical and financial support and training to cultivate lotus-based livelihood to raise flood retention areas.

It will also try to build a sustainable supply chain for lotus silk products by supporting market access and livelihood improvement for lotus farmers and crafts-women in traditional weaving villages, a top Vietnamese media outlet reported.

The organisation recently held a workshop to introduce the project to relevant stakeholders.

Lotus cultivation will be supported on 120 hectares and training will be conducted on lotus fibre extraction and weaving. Research will be conducted on biodiversity indicators and carbon sequestration related to lotus, and businesses will be mobilised to support lotus silk product design and market access.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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