Expanding Coffee-growing Area: Livelihood Strategy of Chil Households in the Central Highlands

Abstract

Since the Renovation (Đổi Mới) in Vietnam, numerous Chil households, a subgroup of the Co Ho ethnic group in the Central Highlands, have shifted from traditional farming to cultivating coffee in an expanding area in Lam Dong province. Drawing on field data from Chil communities, the article analyses the livelihood strategies of Chil families engaged in coffee cultivation. This shift serves as a means to establish land use rights, especially in a context where land has become a commodity, and to generate capital through networks of commodity exchange and credit. The research results form a scientific basis for revising policies to support agricultural commodity production and promote sustainable livelihood development for Chil households, specifically, and ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands more broadly.