Page 76 - Agricultural innovation

One of the basic and most important principles of the clubhouses is the principle of complete
voluntariness. Mr. Sau Tuan, Chairman of Thanh Long Club, said: “[His] clubhouse was formed on the
basis of a cooperative group, that is, people who grow dragon fruits like him, have the need to gather
together to exchange information, to talk to each other, listen to each other, and exchange business
stories, village stories, neighborhood stories”, completely voluntary. In the early days of establishment,
he borrowed his house as a gathering place. Tea and cigarette at meetings have been shared among
members of the clubhouse. Thanks to the positive effect that the clubhouse brings to the participants,
the number of members of the clubhouse is increasing day by day. Up to now, the voluntary principle
is still the principle of maintaining the operation of the clubhouses.
The second principle of the clubhouse is the cohesion of the village community. This is the glue
that binds the members of the clubhouse, maintains the long-term operation of the clubhouse and
contributes to the socio-economic development of the hamlet in general, which is reflected in two
major contents: to share experiences and improve the level of production–business; and unite to solve
social problems of hamlets together, raise awareness about politics, society and law together.
Thus, most of the activities are associated with at least one industry, typical agricultural product
of the locality. The members of the clubhouse are pioners in agricultural production, building new
countryside and civilized cities to link production and consumption of products as a basis for collective
economic development. The clubhouses have connected many businesses to associate and consume
agricultural products as well as establish close links with scientists and agricultural experts.
Socially, the clubhoses have provided a community space for all people to help them build a better
life for themselves. The model of clubhouses in Dong Thap province have promoted the self-governing
community in the activities of the clubhouses, whereby, in addition to production and business, the
clubhouse is also a place to discuss life and solve common problems of society, road construction, bridge
construction, housing, environmental sanitation, security, etc. Since then, gradually change people’s
views and way of life in solving community problems, step by step identify “the common story of
society is the common story of each person, each family, everyone has the responsibility to participate
in the implementation”, thereby mobilizing social resources to build a new local countryside. The
special thing is that the clubhouse helps members feel secure to participate in activities and give advice
to each other, because this is really a people’s organization, gathered and managed by the people,
without appointment and interference directly by local government. Therefore, the glue that binds
the members of the clubhouse is not the rules and regulations of the clubhouse, but the needs of the
members and the cohesion of the social community of the members.
Because the operation is on a voluntary basis, the operating funding is still mainly based on the
support of the local government. Most of the clubhouses when newly established were initially supported
by the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Committee by donating some ‘properties’
such as laptops, projectors, and projection screens. Most of these clubhouses operate without collecting
membership fees from members. There are some clubhouses that charge a fee to create a clubhouse’s
operating fund, but it is preserved and developed by using loans for members and paying a very small
interest rate to maintain the money for the meetings.
In terms of economic efficiency, joining a clubhouse helps members to associate production and
consumption of agricultural products, contributing to reducing the purchase price of input materials
and increasing the value of products sold, no longer being pressured by commodity collectors/traders
and contributing to increase income for farmers. From the perspective of the community, the clubhouse
model has contributed to changing the production thinking in agriculture for farmers, creating
confidence for people when investing and doing business; followed by other positive contributions

Agricultural Innovation Review in CLV Countries 69