Today we woke up in the Mekong delta of Vietnam, south of Ho Chi Minh City.
The preferred method of travel in this area is by the river, so we boarded our boat and headed out on the river to see the area.
Our first stop today was to a brick kiln where the locals were dredging sand and mud from the river and working it into molds to form clay pottery. They were making clay pots and figures that would be hardened in the kiln and then sold or exported to customers. It was almost all hand work and they were very proud of their potteries.
We then went by a floating fishery. This is where they raise and keep live fish in the river and raise them until they are large enough for harvest. Most of the farm was catfish, but there were some other types like sea bass and tilapia that they were raising for customers.
We then went by the Vinh Long market in town where many locals sell produce and fish before boarding our bus and heading out to the next village.
After lunch we visited the college of agriculture at Can Tho University. This is the major university for the Mekong delta region and is the research University for the largest agriculture area in the country.
We met with agriculture students and observed some of the research and classes that the students were involved with. It is amazing how similar the university and the classes are to the ones here in the US. They are working to solve some of the very same agriculture issues that we work with in our own universities. This has been another amazing day of learning about how agriculture works in this country. It is very apparent that even though we are half a world away from home, many of the agriculture issues are very similar.
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