Center for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS)

The Center for Sustainable Development Studies (CSDS) is a Vietnamese non-profit organization legally registered in 2009. CSDS is promoting education for sustainable development with particular focuses on climate change for environment protection, women empowerment through sustainable livelihood support, children support through social inclusion, youth development through international exchange and non-formal education.

• Environment

CSDS focuses on promoting environment protection efforts at different levels, from raising awareness among local population to advocating among policy makers or introduction of new technology to adapt with the current situation.

CSDS is currently running a community ecotourism project in An Lac commune, Son Dong District, Bac Giang Province - 200km from Hanoi. The remote An Lac Commune situated in a beautiful area of forests relies heavily on agriculture and uses timber for the production of different utensils. To help them conserve the area in a more sustainable way CSDS is continuously searching for tourists and volunteers willing to visit this beautiful site and to help develop this area in a sustainable way. By looking for tourists and volunteers to visit and help out the community will have incentives to conserve and maintain the area and make it a worthwhile area to reside for generations to come.

• Education

CSDS is currently constructing a kindergarten for children from ethnic minorities in Moc Chau Plateau - Son La Province - 250km to the north west of Hanoi. We are continuously looking for a helping hand in fundraising. Hence we would like to have a volunteer with us who is experienced in fundraising and knows how to find the right donors or how to organise attractive activities to expand our visibility.

• Youth & Volunteer Exchange

As CSDS believes that youth is the key in starting a development process in Vietnam . We facilitate the improvement of their skills as well as provide opportunities for them to become more active in the society. CSDS continues to promote international voluntary exchange to support local communities and enable youth development for local as well as international volunteers. There are opportunities to teach English in different school and to help out in writing proposals in different NGO's focusing on supporting the disadvantaged. Lastly there is a possibility to help out in childcare, this entails aiding the staff with the care (feeding, playing teaching) of disabled children.

Secondly, you can help establish a ''social café'' in which'CSDS will create a place for youth to come together, have debates and organize seminars, movie nights etc. The café and the profit CSDS intends to make out of selling beverages is used to fund other projects initiated by CSDS. CSDS needs helping hands in making a good business plan as well as in operationalization of the café.

Furthermore, we have started up a Sustainable Development Club (SDC) - a group of local volunteers who are fascinated by the course of sustaiable development as well as an English club to improve the English skills of Vietnamese youth.