Trinh Thi Hong of Da Nang city has found ways to make useful products out of waste. Hong has created liquid cleaners, dishwashing detergents, and fertilizers from organic waste, helping her save money while protecting the environment.
Hong’s method is quite simple. Fruit and vegetable waste is washed, dried, and put into a plastic bucket with 300 grams of sugar and 10 liters of water. The mixture is kept for 30 days and then filtered to get 2 liters of finished liquid. The liquid is mixed with organic matter extracted from coconut flesh to create viscidity, suds, and a pleasant aroma. This method of making dishwashing detergents and household cleaners has been popularized across Da Nang city. Now 90 local households are earning US$220 a month from the cleaning products they produce.
Hong said “I failed many times because of a lack of knowledge and experience. Many customers have asked for more new products such as hand washing liquids and laundry detergents. I want other women to get involved in this project to protect their family’s health and the environment.”
A growing shortage of clean water for daily use as a result of climate change has worried scientists. Nguyen Thi Hau, a lecturer with the Environment and Resource faculty of Da Lat University, is concerned about safe water for people in flooded regions and areas affected by salinity intrusion.
Hau says that during her studies abroad she learned about something called endosmosis filter membrane technology, which can turn polluted water into drinking water.
“This filter bag can counter the temporary water shortage caused by flooding and salinity intrusion. The technology is already widely known around the world but the cost remains high.
My plan is to produce cheaper bags. I’m working with the National Taipei University of Technology to make endosmosis filter membrane bags which can be reused to minimize costs. If a filter membrane is reused, it will cost as low as 70 US cents per year instead of US$3.6 currently,” Hau said.
The innovations of Trinh Thi Hong and Nguyen Thi Hau are just 2 of the 9 ideas that have been honored by the Vietnam Women's Union for contributing to disaster risk reduction and climate change mitigation.
Nguyen Thi Minh Huong, head of the Union’s Communications and Education Department, said “We are cooperating with the disaster prevention authorities to improve the public’s understanding of the important role women can play in disaster risk reduction and climate change response.
At the grassroots level, we will promote communications activities to raise the awareness of women and help them outline a family plan based on four things that are needed ‘on-the-spot’ to minimize environmental impacts on their family: leadership on-the-spot, human resources on-the-spot, means on-the-spot, and logistics on-the-spot.”
