Mekong Quilts, the social enterprise known for their handmade quilts and bamboo bikes, are offering visitors an opportunity to visit the women and villages behind the products. Local NGO Anh Duong, under the umbrella of the NGO Mekong Plus, is working to alleviate poverty in the region through training and microloans. Every year groups of bikers cycle to the Delta and along the way stop to meet quilters, papier mâché crafters, water hyacinth bag weavers and more. Anh Duong provides the bicycles and guides visitors through the villages. The Delta offers splendid little roads along the canals, through small bridges and under shaded trees—making the bike ride picturesque. The Delta is always green and visiting the villages in small groups, on a bicycle, brings you close to the people. I’m sure you’ve heard of biogas, but have you seen pig feces being turned into gas for cooking? You’ll visit farms equipped with this cheap system, which ends up saving lots of trees. After the trip to the Mekong Delta there are options to continue to other projects and then to Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Visitors cover all logistic costs in addition to donating USD100/day (USD50 for children) to support the projects. You see exactly where your money is going, talking with the villagers and with the Anh Duong team. No special training is necessary.
Images Provided by Mekong Plus, the NGO
