International Participatory Action-Oriented Training (PAOT) in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
International participants and Coffee Farmers learn together.
PAOT Mekong Delta Programme revived.
In 2024, the training programme to learn Participatory Action-Oriented Training (PAOT), which had been suspended for four years due to the Covid19 pandemic, was held in Buon Ma Thuot City, the capital of Daklak Province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Twenty-two doctors, teachers, and students from Japan attended. Four participants were from Indonesia. Eighteen people came from Vietnam, including university lecturers and TMT Consulting, the host of the programme.
Preparation of a training programme for coffee workers.
The topic of this year was coffee farm improvement. For the workshop, Dr. Ton That Khai, the main trainer of this workshop, applied PAOT training in the agricultural field (it is so called Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development=WIND) to the coffee farm and tested it in advance.
On 20 August, the participants learned PAOT theories from senior trainers. The advisor Kazutaka Kogi gave an opening address via Zoom. Dr. Ton That Khai, Dr. Nguyen Phuong Toai, Prof. Shigeharu Nakachi facilitated the basic concept of the programme, including the action checklist for coffee farm improvement. The participants repeated the group discussions and presentations in the workshop. This preparation took place on 21 and 22 August.
Ethnic Ede farmers attend the WIND workshop.
On 23 August, we invited fifteen coffee farmers, all from the Ede minority, to learn together about coffee farm improvements.
In the morning, we introduced the coffee farm action checklist and farmers visited homes and farms to identify good points of living and farming conditions. As the action checklist listed many good examples in different technical areas, they were able to identify good points and make low-cost and effective improvements easily.
After returning to the workshop venue, we facilitated how to make improvements in their homes and farms using interesting games and presentations, and the farmers made their action plans in both short and long terms.
The International Hybrid PAOT Achievement Workshop with 110 participants from 11 countries.
The International Hybrid PAOT Achievement Workshop took place on the afternoon of 24 August. There were 70 online participants from Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Korea, Japan and Indonesia and 40 on-site participants.
Dr Toshio Hirano, the Programme Director, gave the opening remarks. Dr Kazutaka Kogi gave a keynote speech, and Dr. Tsuyoshi Kawakami compiled the lessons learned from participatory improvement activities in West Asia.
International delegates from Indonesia, Korea and Vietnam presented their PAOT achievements in different areas. In particular, Dr. Cristina Cruz from the ILO, NESTLE Plan and TMT Consulting presented on improvements for coffee farmers in the Central Highlands.
There was also a presentation from Korea on musculoskeletal disorders. Indonesian and Vietnamese teachers presented the results of environmental activities in schools.
A new phase of the International PAOT programme in Vietnam.
The programme was packed into one week and ended with enthusiasm and success. We were able to touch the warm hearts of the local people in the Central Highlands. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to TMT Consulting, the host of the programme.
The Steering Committee believes that this is a great step forward for the continuation of the Participatory Improvement Programme that has been held in Vietnam for more than 20 years, and we wish to be able to successfully hold this programme in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
