The people: Ethnic groups

Facing poverty as forests dwindle

The people living in the lush foothills and mountain forests of Quang Nam belong to a number of diverse ethnic groups each with their own unique language and style of indigo blue dress intricately woven, by which the identity of their group is distinguished.

Hunger still plagues the poorest in the highlands
But while their songs and ceremonies differ from village to village, and from group to group, what they share in common is poverty. Although their plight has been dramatically reduced in many parts of Vietnam, here in the highlands, the poorest people are still hungry nearly half the year.

The forest on which they have depended for centuries for firewood, food, medicine and the raw materials to build their homes can no longer sustain them.

A total of 8 million people belonging to 37 ethnic minority groups live in the Central Annamites, with 1.2 million in Quang Nam alone. Population densities are highest in the narrow coastal belt of the South China Sea, decreasing as the land rises and ascends to the Annamites Mountains.

A 'mosaic' of ethnic people
The coast is home predominately to the Kinh people, Vietnam's majority ethnic group who make up 87 per cent of the total population. The ethnic minorities, meanwhile, live mainly in the remote mountains where most conservation efforts are focused.

In certain districts of Quang Nam, ethnic people make up the majority of the population. Most belong to one of a number of ethnic groups including the Ka Tu and the Gie Trieng, the first to settle in the Central Annamites, and the Xo Dang and the Pa Co.

A few ethnic groups, such as the Tay, Nung, Thai and Mung have lived in the province for decades after migrating here years ago from the northern mountainous regions under the government's programme to settle nomadic farmers and end the shifting agriculture they have practiced for thousands of years.

This practice of slash and burn cultivation is another common characteristic shared by all ethnic people. In the past, a village was created and settled for a period of 10-15 years based on the fallow cycle for cultivation. After this time, the community moved on clearing more forest for agriculture. The cultivation period at higher altitudes is much shorter, only two to three years before the land is exhausted and must be abandoned.