Passionate about projects to promote tourism in the Northwest, especially in Van Ho district (Son La province), Ms. Dinh Thi Huyen, Director of the Northwest Development Cooperation Center, said that Van Ho district is considered one of the destinations with unique nature and culture.

Visitors to Van Ho district have many different options, from natural experiences to cultural experiences, such as Nang Tien waterfall; Mong villages in Chieng Di, Hua Tat, Thai villages in Chieng Yen with many unique cultural features; Phu Mau village associated with hot spring resources; community tourism villages such as Buot village associated with the story of protecting forests and fish streams... The people here have a diverse culture, forming tourist villages, typical of the two ethnic groups Mong and Thai.

The model of "Heritage Agricultural Village" in Buot village, harmoniously combines ecological agricultural cultivation and experiential tourism.

Nestled in a valley surrounded by majestic mountains in Van Ho district, Son La province, Buot village not only has a wild natural beauty, but is also a long-standing home to 58 Thai households. In the area with 400 hectares of primeval protective forest, Buot village converges unique natural and cultural values. The ecosystem here is diverse with old forests, streams and fields, creating a habitat for many rare species of flora and fauna. In particular, the locality has a natural fish stream, Bang Dong waterfall, Tat Nang waterfall, a natural hot spring and a mysterious cave system...

Wooden signs provide additional information about Buot village for visitors.

Despite the small agricultural land area, people still maintain traditional farming methods, using manual tools, organic fertilizers and natural irrigation systems, producing clean agricultural products. This also creates the premise for the birth of the "Heritage Agricultural Village" model, a harmonious combination of ecological farming and experiential tourism.

Coming to Buot village, visitors can live close to nature, explore the “nature exhibition in sight”. But it is not simply colorful paintings and photos capturing beautiful moments, placed in the exhibition space. Here, each visitor will use their own senses to communicate with nature, to capture and save beautiful images in their minds.

Tourists experience the stages of making rice cakes in Buot village.

These are the game "Close your eyes and see the clouds", guessing the materials closely related to the daily life of the Thai people through touch; the story of the ecological farming of the Buot village; the traditional house space of the Thai people, the space of weaving and pounding sticky rice cakes under the melodious sound of traditional musical instruments; the story of the natural fish stream; the tea party in the Buot Valley...

The natural fish stream in Buot village has been protected and preserved by local people for many generations.

Nowadays, the people of Buot village still cherish and preserve the unique traditional cultural features of the Thai people: stilt house architecture, costumes, cuisine and festivals, rich indigenous knowledge about agriculture, forestry, traditional medicine, etc.

New experience, close to the life of Thai people.

Ms. Maija Helena Seppala, Minister Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Finland in Vietnam

Ms. Maija Helena Seppala, Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Finland in Vietnam (funding the project “Conservation of landscape systems in developing ecotourism for ethnic minority communities in Vietnam”) shared: “Ban Buot is a beautiful place. I am very happy to visit the traditional village, surrounded by mountains and a long stream, with special scenery. I also have the opportunity to explore the local lifestyle of ethnic minorities. I am impressed with this place”.

The third time coming to Van Ho, experiencing the community tourism village and directly participating in the games, Mr. Tuan Anh, CC Foundation (an organization that provides financial support for initiatives and sustainable community development projects) did not hesitate to praise: “This is the first time I have felt with my bare feet the different materials in the daily life of the people. Wildness and friendliness are what I feel when coming here. Normally, it takes 7-8 hours to go to remote areas, but to Buot village, it only takes more than 3 hours by car near the national highway, we can experience a peaceful life, close to nature…”.

Video of experiences of activities at Hua Tat village (Van Ho district, Son La province)

At Hua Tat community tourism village, Chieng Di (Van Ho district, Son La province), visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the cultural space of the Mong people such as: beeswax painting, using natural materials to create patterns and vibrant colors on clothes, making do paper or experiencing folk games such as: Tulu, pao throwing, even witnessing a thrilling Tu lu match of the village boys.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Kien (a tourist from Moc Chau) said: “My hometown is Moc Chau, but this is the first time I have participated in a do paper making experience. The people here still preserve their cultural characteristics. I also filmed the footage to share with friends and relatives...”.

"Nature" painting made from Do paper of Mong people in Hua Tat village.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hau (Tour guide, Hanoi) learns how to draw decorative patterns with beeswax.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hau (Tour guide, Hanoi) was also impressed with the games and culture here: "I got to play the Tu lu game, it was really interesting and in just about 30 minutes, I understood the steps of making Do paper from bamboo and completing a painting...".

Traditional rice cake pounding experience activity at Chieng Di 1 market.

Stalls selling products of highland people attract tourists.

A “specialty” of the highlands that also attracts tourists when traveling to the highlands is “hanging around” in the market. Coming to Van Ho district, tourists can experience the pounding of sticky rice cakes of the Mong people; be absorbed in the bell dances of the Dao people and the Tha Khenh dance of the Mong people; enjoy ethnic dishes… at the Chieng Di 1 market (held every Saturday evening). At the same time, they can shop for handicrafts, brocades, and agricultural products produced by the local people.

Tourists join in the dances of the Thai people.

The first time she explored Chieng Di market, Ms. Thuy Linh (24 years old, a tourist from Hanoi) shared: “The market was interesting, with many good experiences; I got to watch Mong people dance, pound rice cakes, beat chicken feathers… These are memorable experiences in my life”.

"Awakening" Van Ho tourism

Previously, people in Buot village, Hua Tat village, Chieng Di, especially women only knew how to farm, weave, take care of the family... but now, they know how to do "professional" tourism based on local resources. They warmly welcome guests, using everyday cultural stories, traditional dances to connect and interact with strangers, especially they are also confident in using English when welcoming international guests...

Ms. Ha Thi Anh, a resident of Buot village (Chieng Yen commune, Van Ho district).

On days when guests visit, Ms. Ha Thi Anh, a resident of Buot village (Chieng Yen commune, Van Ho district) wakes up at 5 am, takes care of the housework and prepares the experience spaces, practices Thai ethnic dances, and helps welcome visitors. After that, she returns to her farming work, many jobs, "running back and forth" but always has a bright smile on her lips.

“I feel happy and excited when tourists come to the village, my income is better, many tourists also buy agricultural products to support the people…”, said Ms. Ha Thi Anh.

Local produce stall.

After many years of dedication and support for ethnic minorities in tourism development, Ms. Dinh Thi Huyen, Director of the Northwest Development Cooperation Center, hopes to establish close cooperation between different ethnic villages in Van Ho district to create a network of connections between tourism villages.

Ms. Dinh Thi Huyen, Director of the Northwest Development Cooperation Center, shares her thoughts on sustainable tourism development.

“Currently, we focus on exploiting the strengths of each village to connect and help them create unique tourism products. For example, Hua Tat village has been doing tourism for more than ten years, the local people have good skills in providing accommodation and food services. However, the nature experience activities here are not yet lively. We see the potential in other villages such as Buot and Phu Mau in the Van Ho district ecosystem... to develop more unique services and experience activities to serve tourists and resting places can be in Hua Tat village, Chieng Di village, or even the neighboring areas of Mai Chau and Moc Chau”, Ms. Dinh Thi Huyen shared.

Ethnic minority villages do well in tourism, but still maintain traditional values ​​and unique characteristics. Because when doing tourism, what people care about is how to attract visitors, unintentionally forgetting the responsibility of protecting the community's unique natural landscape system. When developing sustainable tourism, the most attractive factor is the cultural characteristics of a community...

The “Heritage Agricultural Village” model creates a stable source of income for local people, creating direct jobs in tourism and agricultural activities. The average income of people participating in the model increased by 30% compared to before.

Households participating in Dong Rung cooperative have a stable income of about 60 million/year. Cooperative member households have shared profits for 3 consecutive years, each year more than 10 million VND. In particular, the model has created a market for local agricultural products, helping people to sell products directly to tourists, instead of just producing for family consumption as before.