The Oxalis Foundation – Empowering Local Communities

A Commitment to Social Responsibility

Oxalis Adventure, the parent company of the Oxalis Foundation, has a long-standing commitment to sustainable tourism and social responsibility. The company has been organizing adventure tours to explore the natural beauty of Quang Binh province since 2011 and has been recognized for its efforts to promote responsible tourism. The Oxalis Foundation was established to further this commitment by providing support to the local community and empowering them to create a better future for themselves.

Major Projects

1. Building Floating Houses in Tan Hoa Commune (now Kim Phu Commune)

Kim Phu Commune is known for its majestic Tu Lan cave system in Quang Tri Province. However, the area is also prone to floods, which occur almost every year, causing significant damage to the local community. To address this issue, the Oxalis Foundation, in partnership with Oxalis Adventure, organized the "Tu Lan Adventure Race" from 2015 to 2020 to raise funds for building floating houses in Kim Phu Commune.

Floating houses are essential for the community to cope with the flood season. However, not everyone can afford to build such houses, making it challenging for them to live together with the floods. The Oxalis Foundation donated all the money from the races and participants to build 90 floating houses, which helped more than 510 families in Kim Phu Commune. Recognizing the effectiveness of floating houses for the residents of Kim Phu Commune, many organizations and individuals joined hands to support the construction of additional floating houses for the community. By the end of 2020, 100% of households living in flood-prone areas of Kim Phu Commune had floating houses, with more than 650 houses built.

The Tu Lan Adventure Race successfully fulfilled its mission, so Oxalis decided to conclude the event after its final season in 2020. By 2025, however, the race was relaunched with a new goal: to build 60 self-contained toilets and hand them over to disadvantaged households in the local community. Among these, the Oxalis Foundation contributed 25 units, while the Tu Lan Adventure Race program supported 35 units, continuing to generate community value more practically and sustainably.

In recent years, local people could set rest in mind in the rainy seasons (from October to early November), without having to run up to the mountains to avoid floods. They can live together with a flood on the floating houses after a good preparation of food and drink and necessary stuff. This type of house is a great solution and plays an important role in reducing difficulties and damage to people living in flooding areas.

2. Opening Free Swimming and Drowning Prevention Courses for Children

Quang Binh province has many natural rivers and streams, where children often go swimming in the summer to cool off. However, due to the lack of swimming education, child drowning incidents have occurred frequently. The Oxalis Foundation recognized the critical need for swimming lessons and drowning prevention education for children in rural areas. Therefore, since 2019, the Foundation has allocated funds to organize free swimming lessons and drowning prevention programs for children in Phong Nha and Tan Hoa.

The free swimming lessons and drowning prevention programs for children will be an annual activity organized each summer as a meaningful gift that Oxalis dedicates to the little ones. Oxalis directly invites professional teachers (certificated by the Department of Culture and Sports) in Quang Binh province to teach them. The Oxalis Foundation covers the expenses for the instructors with a rate of 500,000 VND per child who learns how to swim (at least 20m). Each course lasts for 18 sessions, including both theory and practice.

As of 2024, 2.100 children have learned how to swim through these classes. Building on that achievement, in 2025, Oxalis Foundation supported 350 million VND to open swimming classes for 784 children. This activity contributes to raising awareness and skills in preventing drowning accidents for children, while also providing an opportunity for them to improve their physical health and engage in a beneficial activity during the summer.

3. Supporting Building Schools

The Oxalis Foundation recognizes the importance of education in empowering communities and creating a better future. However, many communities in Quang Binh province face significant challenges in providing adequate education to their children. The Foundation has been making every effort to support the children to go to school and develop education and infrastructure in difficult areas such as Ban Doong and Tan Hoa.

Ban Doong is a small village in the core zone of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park inhabited by Bru Van Kieu people (an ethnic minority group). Without traffic, Doong Village could not be reached by any transportation but by walking. Their living is mainly based on farming and breeding, just enough for themselves, and only very few products are sold outside.

Due to low income, the villager's livelihoods are faced with many difficulties, not to mention regular severe impacts from floods. The educational conditions for children here are also very challenging. The Ban Doong School was established to provide education for children, but the school's infrastructure was only temporary. After being destroyed by storms and floods, the school had to undergo many repairs, causing teachers and students to borrow houses from locals to continue their studies.

In 2015, Oxalis directly provided financial support to rebuild the old school based on the foundation of the previous school. The school was divided into 3 rooms, including 2 classrooms and 1 teacher's room. The total cost was 150 million VND (including the construction of a water pipeline for the school and local residents). However, after a period of use, a major flood in October 2020 struck 5 houses in Ban Doong, including the school. As the school was made of lightweight wood and thatched roofs, the rising water caused the entire house to float. When the water receded, the school was tilted and did not return to its original position, posing a high risk of collapse. Therefore, teachers and students had to temporarily borrow a local's house to continue their studies.

Since January 2021, Oxalis has mobilized all resources in terms of funding and labour to undertake the construction of a new school in Ban Doong. Due to the remote and isolated location of Ban Doong School, the construction work was very challenging. 100% of the building materials had to be carried in from the outside, and Oxalis mobilized 125 porter workers from the Phong Nha region to transport over 80 tons of equipment. By March 2021, the school had been completed and put into use. The total cost for this project was nearly 1 billion VND, which was sourced from the Oxalis Foundation Fund with contributions from various organizations and individuals.

4. Giving Scholarships to Disadvantaged Children

Education is an essential tool for empowering individuals and communities. However, many children in Quang Binh province face significant challenges in accessing education due to financial constraints. To address this issue, the Oxalis Foundation has established an annual scholarship program for disadvantaged students with good academic achievements since 2013.

The scholarship program provides opportunities for students to pursue their dreams of education and contribute to themselves, their families, and society in the future. Since the program’s launch in 2013, by 2025 the Oxalis Foundation has awarded nearly 2,700 scholarships worth more than 2.7 billion VND to students across the province, including Phong Nha communes, Kim Phu communes, Tuyen Hoa communes, and Doong village. These are where Oxalis is organizing adventure tours to explore caves Tu Lan, Hang Tien, Hang Va, Hang En, Hang Son Doong, Chay Lap Farmstay, and Blue Diamond Retreat.

This activity provides more than just material support to help students attend school without worries. It also encourages healthy competition among students throughout the whole school, boosts the confidence of those who have overcome challenges and excelled in both their studies and personal lives, and creates opportunities for students to pursue their dreams with confidence.

5. Other Supporting Activities

Apart from its regular annual activities, the Oxalis Foundation extends its support to the community in response to specific circumstances. This includes relief efforts during natural disasters, assistance to those affected by illness or flooding, and support for urgent initiatives led by local authorities. The foundation also contributes to the Program for Eliminating Temporary and Dilapidated Houses in Minh Hoa District (former Quảng Bình Province), supports the organization of the Full Moon Festival in March in Minh Hoa (former), sponsors traditional boat races in Tan Hoa, Cao Quang, and Phong Nha communes, and cooperates in funding the maintenance of a 24/7 Emergency Station in Phong Nha and surrounding areas.

Activities in 2025

1. Activities Implemented in 2025 Tet gifts for Ban Doong villagers with a total budget of 7.56 million VND, sharing joy and providing support during the traditional Lunar New Year.
2. Support for the Program of Eliminating Temporary and Dilapidated Houses in Minh Hoa District through the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Minh Hoa District, Quang Binh Province (former), with a total contribution of 100 million VND.
3. Support for the construction of septic toilets for residents of Kim Phu Commune, improving living standards and sanitation conditions for the community, with a total budget of 275.4 million VND.
4. Support for the construction of septic toilets – Tu Lan Adventure Race 2025 Program in Kim Phu Commune, with a budget of 385.56 million VND.
5. Support for the Traditional Boat Race in Kim Phu and Phong Nha Communes in 2025, with a total budget of 20 million VND.
6. Support for free swimming lessons for students in 7 communes in Phong Nha and Tan Hoa areas, with a total of 780 students participating and a budget of 350 million VND.
7. Scholarships for students at 22 schools in Phong Nha, Kim Phu, Tuyen Hoa, and Doong Village, with a total of 295 scholarships valued at 315 million VND.
8. Funding for English classes for the Ma ethnic community in Hamlet 4, Ta Lai Commune, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province, with a total of 50 million VND.
9. Support for the program “Journey to World Heritage Sites – Revolutionary Historical Heritage and Support for the Cham Pu Community”, organized by Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, with a total of 3 million VND.
10. Funding for Quang Binh 115 Emergency Co., Ltd. to establish the 24/7 Emergency Station in Phong Nha and surrounding areas, with an annual budget of 180 million VND.

The Oxalis Experience.