Homestay of Hoamg Ngoc Kim in Phia Thap village, Cao Bang province (Photo: VNA) Cao Bang (VNS/VNA)🍰 - The pathleading to Phia Thap village, home to 50 families from the Nung ethnic minorityin Cao Bang province, is surrounded by green rice paddy fields.
Nung people live in stilt houses right nextto their fields with domestic cattle being raised in the shade under the house.
Hoang Ngoc Kim’s home stands out. Outsidethe newly-repaired house constructed from brightly-polished wood hangs a smallsign reading “Welcome to Homestay Mr Kim”.
The traditional structure of Kim’s stilthouse is still preserved. The house’s first floor, which used to be a cattleholding area, has been extended to make a cozy living room with wooden tablesand chairs.
The well-organised second floor is wheretourists can sleep, providing more than 20 mattresses and eco-friendlydecoration. Each mattress is well prepared with a pillow, a mosquito net, alamp and an electricity socket.
Kim is the only one in the village with ahomestay facility. Community-based tourism (CBT) projects aided by the Centrefor Rural Economy Development (CRED) have been implemented in the northernmountain provinces of Ha Giang and Cao Bang, where ethnic minorities face manydisadvantages. The model aims to create sustainable income sources andemployment opportunities for ethnic minority communities, improve theirsanitation and natural environment, and preserve traditional culturalidentities.
Everyone gets involved
Kim was excited to talk about his firsttrip to the tourist mecca of Sa Pa in Lao Cai province and Hoa Binh provincelast year to learn about the homestay model.
“After the trip, I came back home andstarted to repair my house last November. Two months ago, we welcomed the firsttourists. The most important thing isthis is a community-based tourism project so every member of our community canget involved,” he said.
The CBT project not only brings jobs tohomestay owners like Kim, but also offers other services for tourists. The moreservices, the more jobs it provides.
Just finishing a nearly 10km trek as alocal tour guide, 20-year-old Thanh Mao was more than happy to receive positivefeedback from his tourists. This was his first time as a guide after a trainingcourse for the Phia Thap villagers.
Several months ago, the project chose sixresidents to participate in the training and Mao was lucky to be one of them.The young boy used to stay home to help his parents with farming. Now his dailyjob is to guide tourists on local trekking routes, with which he is familiar.
“My limit is now English so I will try tolearn English to be able to help foreign tourists more,” he said.
Besides homestay and tour guide service,residents have set up a fleet of xe om (motorbike taxi) and group of porters tohelp trekkers.
Community empowerment
Phia Thap village is located on thetrekking route offered by the Cao Bang local authority.
Cao Dai Hung, the project manager, saystourists on the trek can rest at traditional craft villages on the way, such asthe Pac Rang blacksmith village, Lung Ri tile-making village, or relax at thehomestay in Phia Thap village, which is well known for its incense makingtradition. They can observe how the locals make various items and even learnhow to make crafts.
“We want to maximise social opportunitiesfor local people. We target to provide them with direct earning opportunitiesfrom homestays and tour guiding, and indirect income from planting and breedingto supply food for tourists. "When tourists come to visit the villages,they also buy products. It is indirect profit,” he added.
The CBT also sets up local funds managed bythe community, which decides its capital rate, following a managementguidebook, contributing to community empowerment and involvement.
"We provided 400 million VND (17,400USD) to the fund. Kim’s family was the first one to borrow from the fund. Infive years, after his family pays off the loans, this money will be rotated forlending to other families to build homestays. That is all about the project’ssustainability," he said.
Moving the cattle
Besides income benefits, environmentalprotection and cultural preservation are also a focus of the projects.
“As a homestay owner, I am always aware ofprotecting the environment. To protect the village’s environment, we asked forsponsorship of the local authority to provide wastebaskets for each house,” Kimsaid.
Hung said one of the biggest difficultiesencountered by such projects is to build local residents’ capacity to operate,manage and develop a tourism model in a sustainable way. "It took us twoto three months to change their awareness about moving domestic cattle out oftheir houses. Raising cattle under the stilt houses and always keeping animalsis an ingrained habit of ethnic communities because buffalos, pigs, cows arethe most precious treasures of farmers. We have to persuade them to understandwhy they have to change, and what benefits they will enjoy,” he said.
So far ten households in Phia Thap villagemoved their buffalo cages far from their living area. This year, the authoritytargets to move another ten.
Potential wonderland
Cao Bang province, located nearly 300km tothe northeast of the capital city, is home to well-known destinations such asthe Ban Gioc Waterfall, listed among the world’s top 10 significant waterfalls,the Pac Bo Historical Site and the Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark. Cao Bang has beenchosen as one of five adventure tourism spots in Southeast Asia.
Given the potential, tourism has beenidentified as one of six key areas for socio-economic development.
Truong The Vinh, deputy director of theprovincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told Viet Nam News thatthe province will review and list intangible cultural heritages of ethnicgroups this year, and has promoted the implementation of cultural developmentand preservation programme.
In the small wooden house lit by warm ovenfire, Kim, his wife, his son and daughter-in-law are still hastily preparingdinner to welcome a new batch of tourists that evening. Each of them wishestheir lives and their neighbours’ livelihoods would be better.
“Turning the age of 60, my wife and me are nolonger able to do hard work on the farm. I hope to receive more touristsregularly and pass on my homestay experience to other villagers,” Kim said.-VNA
Hoang Ngoc Kim’s home stands out. Outsidethe newly-repaired house constructed from brightly-polished wood hangs a smallsign reading “Welcome to Homestay Mr Kim”.
The traditional structure of Kim’s stilthouse is still preserved. The house’s first floor, which used to be a cattleholding area, has been extended to make a cozy living room with wooden tablesand chairs.
The well-organised second floor is wheretourists can sleep, providing more than 20 mattresses and eco-friendlydecoration. Each mattress is well prepared with a pillow, a mosquito net, alamp and an electricity socket.
Kim is the only one in the village with ahomestay facility. Community-based tourism (CBT) projects aided by the Centrefor Rural Economy Development (CRED) have been implemented in the northernmountain provinces of Ha Giang and Cao Bang, where ethnic minorities face manydisadvantages. The model aims to create sustainable income sources andemployment opportunities for ethnic minority communities, improve theirsanitation and natural environment, and preserve traditional culturalidentities.
Everyone gets involved
Kim was excited to talk about his firsttrip to the tourist mecca of Sa Pa in Lao Cai province and Hoa Binh provincelast year to learn about the homestay model.
“After the trip, I came back home andstarted to repair my house last November. Two months ago, we welcomed the firsttourists. The most important thing isthis is a community-based tourism project so every member of our community canget involved,” he said.
The CBT project not only brings jobs tohomestay owners like Kim, but also offers other services for tourists. The moreservices, the more jobs it provides.
Just finishing a nearly 10km trek as alocal tour guide, 20-year-old Thanh Mao was more than happy to receive positivefeedback from his tourists. This was his first time as a guide after a trainingcourse for the Phia Thap villagers.
Several months ago, the project chose sixresidents to participate in the training and Mao was lucky to be one of them.The young boy used to stay home to help his parents with farming. Now his dailyjob is to guide tourists on local trekking routes, with which he is familiar.
“My limit is now English so I will try tolearn English to be able to help foreign tourists more,” he said.
Besides homestay and tour guide service,residents have set up a fleet of xe om (motorbike taxi) and group of porters tohelp trekkers.
Community empowerment
Phia Thap village is located on thetrekking route offered by the Cao Bang local authority.
Cao Dai Hung, the project manager, saystourists on the trek can rest at traditional craft villages on the way, such asthe Pac Rang blacksmith village, Lung Ri tile-making village, or relax at thehomestay in Phia Thap village, which is well known for its incense makingtradition. They can observe how the locals make various items and even learnhow to make crafts.
“We want to maximise social opportunitiesfor local people. We target to provide them with direct earning opportunitiesfrom homestays and tour guiding, and indirect income from planting and breedingto supply food for tourists. "When tourists come to visit the villages,they also buy products. It is indirect profit,” he added.
The CBT also sets up local funds managed bythe community, which decides its capital rate, following a managementguidebook, contributing to community empowerment and involvement.
"We provided 400 million VND (17,400USD) to the fund. Kim’s family was the first one to borrow from the fund. Infive years, after his family pays off the loans, this money will be rotated forlending to other families to build homestays. That is all about the project’ssustainability," he said.
Moving the cattle
Besides income benefits, environmentalprotection and cultural preservation are also a focus of the projects.
“As a homestay owner, I am always aware ofprotecting the environment. To protect the village’s environment, we asked forsponsorship of the local authority to provide wastebaskets for each house,” Kimsaid.
Hung said one of the biggest difficultiesencountered by such projects is to build local residents’ capacity to operate,manage and develop a tourism model in a sustainable way. "It took us twoto three months to change their awareness about moving domestic cattle out oftheir houses. Raising cattle under the stilt houses and always keeping animalsis an ingrained habit of ethnic communities because buffalos, pigs, cows arethe most precious treasures of farmers. We have to persuade them to understandwhy they have to change, and what benefits they will enjoy,” he said.
So far ten households in Phia Thap villagemoved their buffalo cages far from their living area. This year, the authoritytargets to move another ten.
Potential wonderland
Cao Bang province, located nearly 300km tothe northeast of the capital city, is home to well-known destinations such asthe Ban Gioc Waterfall, listed among the world’s top 10 significant waterfalls,the Pac Bo Historical Site and the Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark. Cao Bang has beenchosen as one of five adventure tourism spots in Southeast Asia.
Given the potential, tourism has beenidentified as one of six key areas for socio-economic development.
Truong The Vinh, deputy director of theprovincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told Viet Nam News thatthe province will review and list intangible cultural heritages of ethnicgroups this year, and has promoted the implementation of cultural developmentand preservation programme.
In the small wooden house lit by warm ovenfire, Kim, his wife, his son and daughter-in-law are still hastily preparingdinner to welcome a new batch of tourists that evening. Each of them wishestheir lives and their neighbours’ livelihoods would be better.
“Turning the age of 60, my wife and me are nolonger able to do hard work on the farm. I hope to receive more touristsregularly and pass on my homestay experience to other villagers,” Kim said.-VNA
VNA
