# Vignette 7: Viet Nam's Ve Chai networks

Figure 22: Informal waste workers (“ve chai”) in Viet Nam are predominantly women on bicycles collecting recyclable waste for sale

"When we look closely enough at what seems like simply trash, we discover an intricate web of relationships, cultural practices and human stories," shared Nguyen Tuan Luong, Head of Solutions Mapping at UNDP Vietnam's Accelerator Lab. The UNDP team set out to understand Da Nang city's waste management challenges through an unexpected lens: by following the daily journeys of informal waste workers known as *ve chai*[\[1\]](#endnote-1) (Figure 22). Through ethnographic research and community engagement, they discovered that beneath the visible problem of overflowing landfills[\[2\]](#endnote-2) lay a complex social ecosystem that had evolved over decades. "Before I opened this collection center, I used to be an informal waste worker as well. After going collecting for a few years, I gathered enough business contacts to open this place," shared Ms. Hien, who runs a small waste collection center. Her story revealed how informal workers gradually build expertise and relationships that allow them to create sustainable livelihoods from what others discard. The team's key realization came when they looked beyond official waste management systems. They found that informal waste pickers, predominantly women, had already developed sophisticated networks for recycling and reuse. These workers would go door-to-door, building relationships with households and businesses to collect valuable materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.[\[3\]](#endnote-3) Rather than imposing new systems, the team began mapping and understanding these existing cultural practices. They discovered that for many households, sorting valuable waste wasn't just about money – it was about keeping homes clean and helping the environment. The informal sector had created its own ecosystem of relationships, with waste pickers developing regular routes and trusted connections with both households and larger recycling businesses. The results transformed how UNDP approached waste management in the city. Their research revealed that previous pilot projects often failed because they didn't account for these existing cultural practices and relationships. Most importantly, it showed that informal waste workers weren't a problem to be solved, but rather a crucial part of the solution: their deep knowledge of communities and recycling practices could inform better policy and program design. {% hint style="info" %} #### **Key takeaways:** * **Look beyond what’s observable**: Spend time understanding the cultural practices, relationships and unwritten rules that shape how communities handle challenges * **Recognize existing expertise:** Local communities often develop sophisticated systems and solutions that may not be immediately visible to outsiders * **Map relationships and networks:** Understanding how different actors interact and depend on each other reveals crucial cultural insights. Connect different parts of the ecosystem by introducing actors who wouldn't normally meet each other. * **Let communities lead:** Rather than imposing new systems, look for ways to build on and strengthen existing cultural practices and relationships * **Align with existing priorities**: Connect ongoing community and new initiatives to what local leaders already care about. Building local buy-in takes time, but starting with existing priorities creates a stronger foundation. {% endhint %} *** ## Notes 1. Weina & Luong (2020) [↑](#endnote-ref-1) 2. See Luong (2019) [↑](#endnote-ref-2) 3. See Berditchevskaia et al. (2021, pp. 25-27). [↑](#endnote-ref-3) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://bas-leurss-personal-organization.gitbook.io/undp-accelerator-labs/doing-r-and-d/5.-r-and-d-practices/understanding-culture-and-everyday-experiences/vignette-7-viet-nams-ve-chai-networks.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.