Community Learning Program “The Multifaceted Forest”
18 – 20 July 2025
Toom Sara Village (Hòa Phú, Đà Nẵng) and Tây Giang
Registration link (15 people)
From the organizer:
We warmly invite you to join “The Multifaceted Forest”, a three-day community learning program that seeks to cultivate awareness and connection between people and forests, moving from lived experience to ecological consciousness.
Inspired by the literary essay “Những chiều kích của rừng” (roughly translation “The Multifaceted Forest”) by writer Nguyên Ngọc, this program creates a space for reflection and dialogue on the intricate relationships between humans, nature, and culture, particularly within the complex realities facing the forests of Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands today, where monoculture plantations have significantly altered ecological and cultural landscapes.
Through a series of in-depth activities: field visits, cultural immersions, community gatherings, film screening & discussion, and workshop with invited experts. The program seeks to foster multi-perspective understanding and deep engagement between local communities, government actors, and the creative sector. The core focus lies in the forest ecosystems of the mountainous western region of Đà Nẵng, with urgent concerns such as monoculture acacia plantations, the cultural preservation of the Cơ Tu people, and emerging models of community-based native forest restoration.
This program is part of the long-term artistic research and art residency of artist Xuân Hạ at Toom Sara Village, a community tourism site in Hòa Phú, where forests and people alike have been deeply affected by monoculture systems. The program belongs to the larger initiative “Rừng Ơi, Thở Đi!” (“Dear Forest, Please Breathe!”), launched by Toom Sara Village and co-organized with A Sông.
Featured activities include:
– A visit to the forest and storytelling session on native plant restoration with Elder villager Bríu Pố – the first Cơ Tu person to earn a university degree, also a Meritorious Artisan and exemplary agroforestry practitioner.
– A conversation with a local forest ranger, offering practical insights into current forest conditions and community forest monitoring.
– Screening of the documentary “So Close Yet So Far: The Forest of Our Ancestors” and discussion with filmmaker Đoàn Hồng Lê.
– A participatory workshop and dialogue featuring:
+ A Râl Diêu, a young Cơ Tu environmentalist dedicated to regenerative forest planting.
+ Quách Thanh Thiên, founder of VCIL Community, focused on alternative education.
+ Lana Nguyen, community-engaged curator and arts practitioner from Melbourne/Wurundjeri country.
Follow updates on event’s page.
