Vietnam

This country, slightly larger than New Mexico, is familiar to most Americans through our involvement there. The country has to work to recover from decades of conflict, a rigid central economy, loss of financial support from former allies, and a dense, fast growing population. Over 60% of the Vietnamese population engage in agriculture, the major industry. Textile manufacturing, food production and mining are also major economic activities. Vietnam continues to rebuild its international standing after having fought several wars within recent decades. Some of the current challenges to the environment include logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, water pollution and overfishing. As the population grows and groups in the two major cities, groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; and growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading the environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The government is currently a socialist republic and the only legal political party is the Communist Party. There continue to be international border disputes with China, Thailand, the Philippines, and Cambodia.

The absence of substantial aid and trade from Western nations pushed Vietnam to establish relations with China. However, in August 1990 for the first time since 1975, direct negotiations began between Vietnam and the U. S. The lifting of the 30-year U.S. trade embargo in February, 1995, was a symbol of Vietnam's emergence at long last from years of war and isolation.

Vietnamese artisans are different than most that Ten Thousand Villages works with in one important aspect. The Socialist Government of Vietnam is heavily involved in all aspects of the economic activities in Vietnam, the handicraft segment being no exception. Therefore, Ten Thousand Villages must deal with government people who oversee the work of local artisans.

Links to country facts and maps:
Lonely Planet