Quite literally, each project helps put food in the mouths of rural Vietnamese villagers. Since then, thousands of villagers like those in Cam Luong have reaped the benefits of these projects. The irrigation systems allow many farmers to harvest two rice crops on their tiny plots of land one during the rainy season, the other during the dry season plus an additional crop of vegetables. If the second rice crop is successful enough, part of it might be sold or stored as insurance against future shortfalls. Yet, these projects are built on a modest scale.
Some dams are less than ten feet high with feeder canals two feet wide and one foot deep.
And an observer might not see much water in those canals since some carry water only a few critical times a year. In Cam Luong, for example, AFSC provided an electrical transformer to connect the pump to nearby power lines. As a result, Cam Luong villagers now have access to electricity despite their remote location. Many of AFSC's projects have produced similar benefits, as the examples below illustrate. The reservoir serves two communities with a total population of 1,400 people.