The EXO Foundation has expanded its support in Vietnam after finalising agreements to cooperate with three additional projects.

Firstly, the Foundation will donate $5,000 to fund La Vie Vu Linh community based projects in Northern Vietnam. Located in Yen Bai Province, 170km northwest of Hanoi where the Dao Quan Trang ethnic group (Dao with white trousers) is settled and nearby the wild and mountainous part of the Thac Ba Lake, La Vie Vu Linh is an eco-lodge running an inclusive development project that includes the following:

• An education program with the construction of a school and funding of teachers for English, French and accounting classes.
• A cultural project with the creation of a yearly intercultural festival reviving the Dao culture and showcasing their craft skills and artistic expressions.
• An economic project in an agro forestry to encourage the emergence of a more diversified and less polluting form of agricultural industry (a variety of fruit trees to diversify the existing monocultures of cassava and eucalyptus).
• The development of a Phyto purification system as well as a biogas system by providing equipment to six families during the first phase of a three-part environmental initiative.

The Foundation’s support will mainly impact these last 2 projects.

Secondly, EXO Foundation will provide the Endangered Asia Species Trust (EAST) with $4,000 to support thier Loris rehabilitation project conducted in Cat Tien National Park, southern Vietnam. The Loris is a nocturnal animal that lives in the trees and is a group of primates related to lemurs. The Red Data Book of Vietnam and the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species (IUCN 2013) list the pygmy Loris as ‘Vulnerable’.

The Foundation’s support will go towards funding the Pygmy Loris Conservation and Awareness Enclosure, a permanent home for both pygmy Loris that can’t be released, as well as releasable lorises that need more rehabilitation time before release. Lorises are incredibly sensitive to chronic stress and long term care in small cages is often fatal.  Forested enclosures where the Loris can regulate their own temperature and feel safe are vital for their survival.

Finally, the EXO Foundation will support the POWER UP event on the eve of COP 21 with $1,000. The event is organised by 350 Change whose goal it is to raise awareness regarding the connection between energy and climate change and to lobby the government to adopt sustainable energy options for a low-carbon economy.

The understanding about climate change mitigation and energy security, and the role of community in tackling these challenges, is very low among the Vietnamese public. This youth event led by a dynamic group of students will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on November 25th and be disseminated via social media. The concept follows the history of coal, from it’s initial discovery, to its proposed “demise” as an energy source, and its replacement by renewable energies. The event will be comprised of two parts: the first providing interactive booths and informative presentations; the second inviting guest speakers, artistic performances and a music concert with Vietnam’s top singers who are among 350.org Vietnam’s ambassadors and supporters.