Arabfields, Meriem Senouci, Correspondent, Hanoï, Vietnam — Every morning, before the heat settles over the mountains of Phu Tho, Luong Thi Tho walks through a field of chayote vines that has transformed her family’s prospects.

Two years ago, the same piece of land was used mainly for maize and generated only about VND3 million, roughly $114, a year. Today, Tho earns around VND30 million annually from chayote, turning a modest hillside plot into one of her family’s more reliable sources of income.

Her experience is part of a wider effort to help ethnic minority women in northern and central Vietnam cope with a changing climate while building stronger household economies. The Resilience First Programme, supported by the Irish Government and implemented by CARE International in Vietnam, Plan International Vietnam and the Centre for Research on Community Development Initiatives, has been working with vulnerable communities since 2022.

The programme is scheduled to run until 2028 and currently covers 15 communities across Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang and Quang Tri provinces. Since its launch, it has reached more than 50,000 people.

More than 2,100 people have joined 122 livelihood groups created through the programme. Women account for more than 82 percent of participants, while almost 97 percent come from ethnic minority communities. The groups support activities ranging from climate-resilient agriculture and livestock production to savings, market access and community-based tourism.

For women such as Tho, the financial difference can be immediate. Choosing a crop better suited to local conditions has allowed her family to earn roughly ten times more from the same plot than before.

But the programme’s impact goes beyond income. Mountain communities across Vietnam are increasingly exposed to erratic rainfall, drought, landslides and livestock diseases. Small farms, fragmented land holdings and limited infrastructure can make it difficult for families to absorb sudden losses.

Training has therefore become an important part of the response. Farmers are learning how to select crops suited to changing conditions, improve animal health and introduce safer production methods. Access to affordable loans gives families the capital needed to put those lessons into practice.

In Quy Duc Commune, Ha Thi Minh saw the benefits after receiving training in pig farming. Previously, disease and slow growth meant that many piglets did not survive. With new knowledge and financial support, her family has been able to improve production while using additional income to help pay for their children’s education.

For Sa Thi Quy, another participant, the biggest change has come from working collectively. Through a village savings and loan association, members contribute to a shared fund and take turns borrowing money. The arrangement provides households with access to small amounts of capital while creating a network of people who can support one another when financial pressures arise.

That sense of community is becoming increasingly important as climate risks grow. A failed harvest, livestock disease or natural disaster can quickly affect a household with few alternative sources of income. Savings groups, producer organisations and diversified businesses can provide a degree of protection when one part of the local economy comes under pressure.

The programme is also helping women move beyond traditional farming activities. In Quyet Thang Commune, community tourism is creating new opportunities to earn money while preserving Muong cultural traditions. Women are receiving training in hospitality, business management and tourism services, with visitors able to experience local agriculture, traditional music, handicrafts and food.

For many participants, the change is as much personal as financial. Greater involvement in savings groups, farming organisations and tourism activities has encouraged women to speak more openly, manage household finances and take part in decisions affecting their communities.

Local officials say the longer-term objective is to ensure that these activities continue after the programme ends. Lương Văn Vinh, a local official, believes that training farmers in modern agricultural techniques can provide a foundation for expanding successful models and eventually developing producer groups into cooperatives.

That transition could prove important over the next two years as the programme approaches its 2028 end date. If the existing groups continue to expand production, strengthen savings and improve access to markets, more households could move from small-scale subsistence farming toward diversified commercial livelihoods.

The numbers already suggest that the model has room to grow. With more than 2,100 participants spread across 122 livelihood groups, each group currently brings together an average of roughly 17 members. Maintaining that network while connecting producers to larger markets could give rural women greater bargaining power and create additional income opportunities.

The programme’s future impact will also depend on whether communities can continue investing in climate adaptation. Farmers still face damaged roads, landslides, animal diseases and unpredictable markets. A successful crop or livestock project cannot remove those risks, but stronger household finances and better community organisation can make them easier to withstand.

Tho is already thinking about what comes next. She hopes loan repayment conditions can become more flexible so that families are not placed under excessive financial pressure. Minh, meanwhile, wants to build a biogas system and expand her pig operation with another breeding sow.

Those ambitions reflect a significant change in outlook. The women involved are no longer simply looking for short-term assistance. They are making plans for larger farms, new businesses and more secure futures for their children.

As Vietnam’s mountain communities confront increasingly uncertain weather and economic conditions, that confidence may prove to be one of the programme’s most valuable results. The experience of the Resilience First Programme suggests that climate resilience is not built through infrastructure alone. It also grows through income, knowledge, cooperation and the ability of women to take a leading role in shaping their communities.

With the programme continuing through 2028, the next phase will test whether these gains can become self-sustaining. If savings groups, producer networks, climate-smart farms and tourism initiatives continue to develop, the impact could extend well beyond the 15 communities currently involved.

For Tho, the transformation is already visible each time she enters her chayote field. What was once a modest plot struggling to generate an income has become a symbol of what can happen when local knowledge, financial opportunity and determination come together.