Ly Quoc Thang homestay
In 2013, Mr. Ly Quoc Thang welcomed the first tourists to Nam Dam village, Quan Ba commune, Quan Ba district, Ha Giang province.
When Vietnamese and foreign experts came here on occasion of the recognition of Ha Giang Stone Plateau as a Global Geopark by UNESCO, the concept of doing tourism began to emerge. The Ha Giang provincial government chose Nam Dam to build a culture and tourism village because it still retains the original indigenous culture. There are still many old houses and the Dao people still retain their unique cultural identity.
Mr. Thang accepted to be a pioneer in doing tourism because officials told him to innovate, to do tourism in order to both preserve cultural identity and increase income.
With the help and guidance of local authorities, Mr. Thang welcomed the first guests to the village. In contact with guests, he understood the need to study. Therefore, his children all finished high school. The youngest son Ly Van Quang, after graduating from Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, volunteered to return to the village to work as a homestay with his father.
His son borrowed money to invest in building 10 bungalows on the bamboo forest, with an operator, a canteen, and then associated with young local people to do tourism. Mr. Thang always thought and told his son that, no matter how tourism develops, generations need to keep the culture, customs and habits of the Dao people, the village must keep its rustic charm.
Quan Ba Community Tourism Service Cooperative
Mr. Nguyen Do Muoi, born in 1988, is the Director of Quan Ba Community Tourism Service Cooperative.
Nam Dam village started to do tourism in 2013. It was only crowded with tourists in early 2018. Therefore, in 2018, Mr. Muoi decided to establish a cooperative to help people preserve their cultural identity, connect with tourists and develop agriculture in a sustainable way associated with tourism. Doing homestay but do not give up farming and gardening.
The cooperative is also facing many difficulties, many villagers have not followed Muoi because he is so young. He had difficulty mobilizing villagers to maintain common hygiene; build a separate clean toilet area at each house; keep the original house and local cultural values; or learn to cook, clean rooms, welcome guests…
To solve it, Mr. Muoi asked the elders in the village and pioneers like Mr. Thang to open up their thoughts. Thanks to that, Quan Ba Community Tourism Service Cooperative has 30 members so far. The Quan Ba cooperative also received the Community-based Tourism Award by ASEAN Tourism Awards 2023.
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