The DINA Foundation

Discovery Indochina is actively committed to responsible travel, meaning we strive to operate in a way that both respects and benefits the local communities and the environment that we work with.

 

The DINA Foundation is a not-for-profit fund that follows a 1+1+1 ( 1% of ownership capital + 1 % time of all staffs and 1% products) distribution model, contributing to education, child welfare, youth startup, gender equality, sustainable development and environmental and wildlife protection.

Contributing to one of the many projects supported by The Dina Foundation is your chance to give back to the places you’ve travelled to and to help improve lives around the world.

 

  • The Dina Community Project Fund supports around many villagers working in Discovery Indochina’s operating destinations. Many of these families and communities and their projects can be visited during your trip.

 

  • The Charity Fund supports a range of trips to the countryside. All donations made to this fund are  divided each year, with one half retained to conserve and grow capital for funding projects into the future and one half distributed to a charity trip that our clients are welcome to participate in.

 

Other projects:

 

Gender Equality & Sustainable Development Efforts

  • Staff Training
    • We prioritize training our staff members and raising overall company awareness of responsibility in tourism industry; in particular,
    • the implementation of and participation environmental protection programs
    • the preservation, revival, and honouring of indigenous culture through cultural and artistic activities for travellers
  • Loom Project
    • for H’mong, Thai, Mương people
    • Projects of dyeing and weaving for Laichi people in Ha Giang, Hmong People in Quanba
    • Projects to promote the traditional weaving of Muong people in Hoa Binh, Tai people in Nghe An, Dienbien, Sơnla
  • Homestay Project
    • Bringing in locals to develop  homestay accommodations, combined with tourism activities
    • Hospitality training for homestay hosts, building soft skills to better serve visitors
    • Expanding homestay and tourist networks to increase customer inflow and thus, household income
  • Bamboo Straw Project
  • Community Based Tourism Project
  • Natural Dye Project ( undergoing )

 

Educational Efforts

  • Open Hope Library Project
    • The project opens the door for hope for children, women in remote areas, villages where educational resources are limited.
    • This brings access to knowledge through library activities, and teaching English.
    • Soft skills Project: Improving soft skills for adolescents in these regions
    • Scholarship Project: Scholarship grants for good students in difficult circumstances
    • So far 10 libraries have been opened by the program.
  • Thắp sáng ước mơ:  Scholarships for underprivileged students
  • Nụ cười nhân ái

 

Supporting Youth Startups

  • BookUp Project: provision of books, literacy materials to youth and budding entrepreneurs
  • ActionUp Project: Soft skill talks to students

 

Cultural Development

 

Environmental Initiatives

  • Keep Mekong Clean & Beautiful
    • The DINA Foundation has had an annual gathering of staff, partners, and clients to clean up Mekong river on 30 August
    • Article on 2018 cleanup

 

Other Charitable Initiatives