Learning By Listening To People Who Live It

SÓC TRăNG PROVINCE, Vietnam - Our bus rumbles along the rural roads of this province in Southeast Vietnam. It is hot. Today, we are visiting a cooperative prawn and rice farm. Nhan Dang, the director of the Mekong Delta Development Research Institute at Can Tho University and our guide on this excursion, describes the benefits of the farming model that we will see today.

This is the second day of field trips near Sóc Trăng but we are now halfway through a two-week trip to Vietnam. Our goal is to learn from potential collaborators about how a diverse group of engineers and scientists with expertise in environmental engineering, biology, veterinary science and social sciences can contribute to a more sustainable future for the Mekong Delta and Vietnam as a whole. U. of I. civil and environmental engineering professor Helen Nguyen is leading this expedition. My mentor, Illinois Natural History Survey conservation biologist Mark Davis, is here as well. Davis directs the Collaborative Conservation Genetics Laboratory at the INHS, of which I am a member.

I am a conservation geneticist. I use genetic and genomic techniques to learn about the health and well-being of different species - particularly how population health changes across different ecosystems and habitats. Davis, also a conservation geneticist, uses environmental DNA to learn about the biodiversity that exists in a specific area. By analyzing a single sample of dirt, water, air or snow, he can identify many of the species that live in the area.

As we step off the bus, a group of farmers welcomes us with a feast of coconuts and fresh fruits spread out across several tables underneath a covered patio surrounded by trees. I choose a table in the center.

As everyone settles in and begins talking, I find myself sitting across from the matriarch of one of the farming families in the cooperative. She radiates wisdom and strength. We make eye contact and smile at one another. The woman leans over to speak to Nguyen in Vietnamese. I can tell that she is asking Nguyen to translate. Nguyen tells me that this wise matriarch is praising my intelligence. It is a simple moment, but it feels so empowering coming from her.

Davis and I are particularly interested in how climate change is affecting the farmers and the biodiversity of this region and the Mekong Delta, in general, and how the farming cooperative is adapting to the challenges.

The conversation with the farmers takes some time. Dang translates our questions for the members of the cooperative and we wait patiently to hear their answers. We learn about the history of this 10-family farming cooperative that spans 15 hectares and how it came to be. We learn that this cooperative grows a high-quality rice - known as Sóc Trăng-24 or ST-24 - and raises freshwater prawns. The farmers also tell us about the benefits of switching to this type of farming practice.

Because the cooperative follows organic agricultural practices - no pesticides or other chemicals are used - it protects local biodiversity. The farmers are also adapting to the impacts of climate change on the Mekong Delta. Droughts and saltwater intrusion from the delta make the water too brackish for rice production during the dry season. However, the brackish water makes for a perfect habitat to raise and produce prawns.

We follow the farmers past the empty rice fields to the ponds where the prawns are raised. The men throw out their nets, hauling in prawns they have been cultivating for months.

While most of the other scientists stand back, Davis and I, the ecologists, reach into the buckets to handle the catch. Each bucket is full of large freshwater prawns and snails ranging from the size of a penny to that of a golf ball.

Excitedly, Davis calls me over to show me a singular small fish that was also caught in one of the nets.

The farmers finally take us back to the main area to say our goodbyes. As I get back on the bus, I feel connected to these men and women. Our mutual interest in the challenges they face and their efforts to build resiliency in the face of climate change have increased our respect and understanding.

On my way back to the United States, I think about how much this experience has taught me. Overall, the trip fostered my growth - allowing me to come up with new ideas and have the confidence to share them. With each passing day of discussions with the researchers at Can Tho University, I could feel myself becoming more open and confident. The leadership ensured that everyone had a place at the table, and for that I am so grateful.

Back home, I am overwhelmed with research ideas. I realize that collaborations with people with local knowledge are essential to efforts build a more sustainable future for the biodiversity of the Mekong Delta and Vietnam.