A business planning workshop was held in Da Nang, Viet Nam from 26 to 28 August 2025. The three-day workshop was hosted by NTFP-EP Viet Nam and the Southern Institute for Ecology (SIE), in partnership with Borneo Chic and PARARA of Indonesia, and Plantsville Health Products of the Philippines. The workshop is part of the “Capacity Building on Enhancing Resilience to Forest Fire, and Strengthening Local Livelihood, and Market Linkages in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam (CLMV) Countries” project supported by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF) and co-implemented by the Asian Forest Cooperation Organisation (AFoCO).  

More than 40 participants took part in the workshop, including representatives from NTFP-EP Cambodia, Association for Rural Mobilisation and Improvement (Lao PDR), Forest Department of Myanmar, and NTFP-EP Viet Nam and their respective community forest livelihood and enterprise partners.   

On the first day, Community Forest Enterprises (CFE) and Community Forest Livelihood (CFL) groups from the CLMV countries shared their current business operations as well as their level of knowledge and skills in operating their social enterprises. Feedback from the trainer-facilitators helped guide the participants for the subsequent sessions of the workshop. 

The second day of the workshop kicked off with a presentation from NTFP-EP Asia Program Associate from Indonesia on the journey of Borneo Chic, a green intermediary helping artisans in Kalimantan province. Participants also learned about the lessons and challenges faced by Borneo Chic, including enterprise readiness, product quality, and the cost of utilising online platforms for marketing.