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BlogTime: 19:30, July 20, 2026
Format: Online via Zoom
Language: Vietnamese
Register: https://luma.com/u472noe7
In the upcoming Vcil Members' Talks #11 , we will meet Ms. Bich Cong, Director of the Moc Cham Cooperative, to hear her story about preserving and passing on indigenous knowledge with the local community of Cu Lao Cham, and the intersection between people and nature on the island. We will also explore the community-based educational tourism model through the lens of the Moc Cham Cooperative.
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Ms. Bich Cong is the founder of the Moc Cham Cooperative, a community initiative and cooperative economic model aimed at sustainable development through the preservation of indigenous knowledge and the responsible utilization of local resources in Cu Lao Cham.
A land is only truly preserved when people understand the value of the place they rely on and feel that their lives are deeply connected to the soil they grew up on. It is difficult for an individual to want to preserve something they have never truly "touched" or understood about where they live. Similarly, a community cannot pass on traditional values if the stories of their ancestors are gradually forgotten.
As a daughter of Cu Lao Cham island, Ms. Cong’s life has been tied to the waves, the winds, and the local bounty—from seaweed and forest medicinal herbs to the sterculia tree. This upbringing nurtured in her a profound love for her home. She wants to ensure that indigenous knowledge is passed down and that local products are preserved and more widely recognized.
However, with the rise of mass tourism, the ecological impacts, the gradual disappearance of traditional crafts, and shifting livelihoods, the relationship between the people and their land has changed. This reality drove her to take action to contribute to the island's sustainable development.
Ms. Cong’s goal is not only to protect local products, knowledge, and resources but also to create a sustainable development solution that improves livelihoods and provides more opportunities for locals—especially the youth—to build a life in their hometown, preserving and continuing the legacy left by their ancestors. Ultimately, she wants visitors to the island to gain a deeper understanding of the place, its people, its ecology, and its culture, rather than seeing it merely as a destination with beautiful scenery.
As a world biosphere reserve, Cu Lao Cham (Tan Hiep island commune, Hoi An) is blessed by nature with a rich ecosystem and numerous cultural values cultivated by generations of islanders. From medicinal plants and wild vegetables to traditional crafts and wisdom on living in harmony with nature, everything holds a treasure trove of knowledge accumulated over time. However, Bich Cong realized that many values of the people and the land of Cu Lao Cham remained unseen, misunderstood, and not fully told. Driven by these concerns, she sought a way to tell the story of Cu Lao Cham through products made from local ingredients and a community-based tourism model.
In early 2025, Cong began to realize her vision step by step by researching native plants, developing products, and building a suitable operational model. Nearly a year later (2026), Moc Cham Cooperative - Cu Lao Cham Natural Specialties and Indigenous Cultural Experiences was born, marking the beginning of a journey to connect people with the land through local products, stories, and experiences.
The cooperative develops products using local raw materials, crafted by the hands of the residents, ensuring the community benefits directly from commercial and tourism activities. Cu Lao Cham products—such as wild leaf tea, seaweed, noni, wild pineapple, and items made from sterculia fiber—are more than just souvenirs; they carry stories of the connection between people and the land, and the knowledge preserved by islanders for generations.
Alongside this, Moc Cham develops a community-based tourism model where locals are not just service providers but storytellers of their own homeland. Instead of merely visiting famous landmarks, travelers meet artisans spinning sterculia fiber, learn about native medicinal plants, experience tea-making, and hear the story of how Cu Lao Cham transformed from resource extraction to responsible conservation and utilization. These experiences are designed so that participants do not just "skim the surface" but truly immerse themselves in the land to understand how the people here have lived and continue to live with nature.
For Cong, a conservation model is only sustainable when the local community is the protagonist of the process. At the same time, residents gain a livelihood from leveraging indigenous values, young people understand the story of their homeland, and visitors leave with more than just a beautiful photo.
In Vcil Members' Talks #11, Bich Cong will share more about this journey—from her initial concerns and the formation of the Moc Cham Cooperative to specific practices in preserving indigenous knowledge and developing community-based tourism. We invite you to join the session to hear the full, detailed story from Cong!
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In this session, we prioritize creating space for Q&A with the speaker, so the conversation will be interactive and co-creative.
Some topics that may be explored during the conversation:
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See you at Vcil Members' Talks #11 this July!
- Fanpage: Vcil Community
- Phone/Whatsapp/Zalo: (+84) 918580257 (Trinh Thai) or (+84) 836243541 (Huy Hoang)
- Email: vcil.group@gmail.com
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Vcil Members' Talks is a monthly event series open to the public. Members of the Vcil community ecosystem—including social innovators, educators, entrepreneurs, and artists—share their personal journeys, stories, and initiatives that are creating new solutions for a happy, equitable, and regenerative society every day.
Vcil Members' Talks are a series of public sharing event