Vietnam
WISHH strategic partner, NSRL successfully worked with the U.S. Vietnam Foundation (USVNF) in 2009 to provide technical assistance in the creation of a micro-enterprise soy production company, called FaifoSoy, in Da Nang, Vietnam.
NSRL traveled to Vietnam to provide hands-on training for the FaifoSoy team in soy utilization for dairy and baking applications. FaifoSoy is currently producing soy milk and soy baked goods for retail as well as for free distribution to local schools and hospitals.
NSRL will work with the USVNF to expand the FaifoSoy microenterprise to a second branch on the nearby Cham Island (Cu Lao Cham), located south of Da Nang City.
In partnership with the U.S. Vietnam Foundation, WISHH and NSRL worked on soy microenterprise projects with soydairy and soy in baking applications in 2008. The soy milk produced from two SoyCows will go to schools and hospitals in the Da Nang area. The program can generate enough soy milk, tofu, and soy-enhanced baked goods for sale by female entrepreneurs and support the sustainability of the overall initiative.
Vietnam offers a warm attitude toward Americans and plenty of opportunity for sales of U.S. high-protein soy. The Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board and WISHH representatives met with leaders of a small business producing fermented soy products in the Hoa Binh province of Vietnam. “The Vietnamese are fans of soy,” says Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board Executive Director Lyle Roberts who traveled to Vietnam along with soybean growers and WISHH consultants. “It’s a country with a great work ethic and they want partnerships. Our goal is to lower the cost of adding protein in the most sustainable way.”
They made agreements with the Center for Mountainous Medicine-Biology, a Vietnamese organization dedicated to serving the poor, mountainous areas of Vietnam, to work together on school feeding programs, HIV/AIDS nutrition programs and small business initiatives commonly called “microenterprise” programs. The team also had meetings with the American Red Cross and Vietnam Red Cross to explore ways to incorporate soy into their school snack program and HIV program. They also conducted soyfoods seminars.
