The primary aims of the planning grant are to promote the participation of key stakeholders of the proposed project, including local authorities and relevant agencies and communities, and provide scientific assistance for the project development. Major activities of the project include conducting surveys on socio-economic conditions of the proposed project site, identifying proposed project objectives and activities and assessing their feasibility, and providing needed technical assistance in project design and writing project proposal which will be submitted to GEF/SGP for review and appraisal; and identifying possibilities for project synergies and resource mobilization.

The objective of the project is to build a demonstration model of community participation in conserving and developing genetic sources of dye plants, contributing to biodiversity conservation. The project's strategy is to link conservation activities with community livelihoods by exploiting economic value of those plants through pigment production to meet industries? demands.
Major activities of the project will include:
? Organize communication activities so as to raise the awareness and knowledge of biodiversity conservation in general and color-vegetal resources in particular of the local authorities and communes.
? Set up a community model to specialize in cultivating 3 dye plants, including Mat Mong Hoa, Cam and Cham Meo, for pigment production in order to preserve and develop genetic sources of those species and create a source of income for local people.
? Testing a small-scale pigment production from the 3 dye plants.
? Create domestic market for pigments produced by the project
? Collect and document traditional experience and indigenous knowledge of indigenous people in using dye plants.
? Document and disseminate the project's lessons learned, compile technical documents for the cultivation of dye plants and pigment production.