Sampan Boat Donation - Day Experience

Riverboats and sampans are the main means of transport in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s largest rice farming area. The traditional sampan is used for transporting goods to and from market (both floating and land-based), ferrying children to school, and even as floating shops. As a result, families who cannot afford a sampan can find themselves cut off from everyday life.

Trails of Indochina identifies a family in need then facilitates a face-to-face meeting with the traveller. The highlight is an intimate ceremony where the traveller personally delivers the sampan to the family, witnessed by villagers and local authorities. The event is emotional for everyone involved – the grateful family for a truly life-changing gift and the traveller rewarded with the knowledge that a single, meaningful gesture will provide an entire family with a sustainable livelihood for years to come.