Buffalo tours

A guarantee to pick up the bill to replace a dead diseased buffalo is helping Vietnamese farmers maintain a 1,000-year-old custom.  The beast is crucial for cultivating rice - but it costs $US350 to replace one when, for example, the average annual income per person is only $150 in Mai Chau region.

Buffalo start working the fields aged three and live for 16 –20 years.  “In general they die of old age but some contract diseases such as pasteurellosis, which leads to pneumonia, “explains Brenda Ho, marketing director of Buffalo Tours.  “They are instrumental to farmers. In Vietnam, especially the extremely mountainous areas, buffalo are more useful than tractors and machinery. And maintenance and repair is not feasible on such low incomes. particularly when the aim is to promote sustainable lifestyle and tourism. You don’t want to see broken machinery lying around while people suffer.

“The Water Buffalo Fund, set up nine years ago, assists farmers. It operates in collaboration with the local authorities who know the criteria and inform us which families are really in need of an animal.   “Without a doubt, by keeping the buffalo going it helps the environment as well as the local communities. We donate only cow buffalo and these can give birth to two calves every three years.”

She added: “We also contribute to the local communities in general by giving back 3% of our profits to deserving causes. As we conduct our tours, we explain our projects. So anybody can provide a buffalo to the locals based on local recommendations.”

Read more case studies