From the dream of returning to the village...
Having studied at the Northwest College of Arts, Giang A La returned to his village and tried his hand at the Hang Kia Agricultural- Tourism Service Cooperative model. However, after a period of operation, the cooperative dissolved due to many difficulties. “The members do not really understand each other, the people do not fully understand the legal regulations, taxes and policies, making it difficult to develop together in the long term. Therefore, I want to re-create the model on a household business scale effectively, and in the future, I will have more experience to help and support the people to develop together,” Giang A La shared.
Foreign tourists enjoy participating in the experiential tour with Giang A La (far right)
Tourists come to experience tourism at A La Homestay
Choosing the household business model to continue the journey of sustainable tourism, he focused on building a community tourism product called A La Homestay. With package tours, visitors to the homestay will experience culture from exploring nature, enjoying cuisine to relaxation... at locations in Hang Kia - Pa Co and Moc Chau, Van Ho (Son La). In addition, A La Homestay also provides handmade brocade products, clean agricultural products produced by local people such as plums, tomatoes, free-range chickens, vegetables of all kinds...
Spreading cultural values from community tourism
A La Homestay is an attractive destination for many domestic and international tourists when visiting the Hang Kia - Pa Co area. The 1-4 day experience tours are designed as a package, including transportation, accommodation, meals, and local cultural experiences such as beeswax painting, rice cake pounding, indigo dyeing, cooking, plum and peach picking, cloud hunting, mountain climbing, camping, visiting waterfalls, bathing in hot mineral springs, cultural exchanges, charity activities... The cost ranges from 1-3 million VND/person depending on the tour.
Giang A La prepares ethnic dishes for tourists to visit and experience at Homestay
Each month, A La welcomes about 20-30 visitors, bringing in revenue of about 30-40 million VND. However, tourism activities are still seasonal and unstable. A La currently has to hire seasonal staff, including 3 people with a support level of about 250,000 VND/day, equivalent to 2 million VND/person/month. In addition, there are additional costs for the art troupe, motorbike taxi drivers and tour guides who are villagers, mobilized for each tour. He said: "Although the number of customers is not steady, I still try to maintain payment so that I have people to work with and keep the profession. I cannot develop community tourism alone. I have to bring benefits to the villagers so that they are willing to accompany me."
As a former active Youth Union officer, A La regularly organizes volunteer programs, afforestation, and community activities associated with tourism. From there, he received consensus and support from the local people and authorities. It is this spirit of “not doing it alone” that has become the foundation for him to gradually build a sustainable tourism model, associated with local livelihoods and culture.
Tourists check in at the cloud hunting spot in the A La Homestay experience tour
Comrade Tran Van Truyen - Chairman of the People's Committee of Pa Co commune, Phu Tho province (new) said: “Giang A La is a typical young man with innovative thinking, daring to think and dare to do. Despite many difficulties when starting a business in the locality, he still persevered in finding his own way and constantly connecting with the community. The valuable thing is that A La does not do tourism just for himself, but always strives to create a livelihood, spread culture, and preserve national identity. The locality always appreciates A La's model and will continue to accompany and support within its capacity so that community tourism can develop sustainably."
From nothing, Giang A La has turned a corner of the mountain forest into a place to welcome guests. From a small dream, he sowed a future for the H'Mong community in Pa Co. And from that valley of clouds, a new generation of young people is gradually awakening, daring to dream, daring to do and daring to stay - starting a business in their homeland.
Hang Nguyen
Source: https://baophutho.vn/chang-trai-nguoi-mong-xay-giac-mo-du-lich-o-thung-lung-may-235490.htm
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