Da Bac is a district located in the Northwest region of Hoa Binh province, bordering Thanh Son and Tan Son districts of Phu Tho to the North, Cao Phong, Tan Lac and Mai Chau districts to the South, Hoa Binh city to the East and Phu Yen and Van Ho districts of Son La province to the West. Da Bac is about 90km from Hanoi. In the past, people in Da Bac district mainly made their living from pure agriculture. People here worked year-round on hillsides, growing crops and raising livestock. Starting around 2016, when the province’s tourism development project was prioritized for implementation, Da Bac farmers started doing community tourism.
Visit Traveling to Da Bia hamlet, Da Bac district, visitors will have many interesting experiences at the community tourism hamlet
According to Ms. Dinh Thi Yeu, one of the pioneers in community tourism in Da Bia hamlet, Tien Phong commune, Da Bac district, shared: “Previously, Da Bia was a small hamlet with a few dozen households. When there was no road, this place was an isolated oasis of mountains, forests and rivers. Coming here, the only way to go is by boat on the Da River lake. The road to the hamlet has only been open for 3-4 years. Therefore, Da Bia still retains its rustic, wild, dust-free, and noisy features. In recent years, receiving support and investment, Da Bia is transforming itself into a new look, becoming an attractive community tourism destination for visitors. At first, we were still confused when it came to cooking, decorating rooms, tables, dancing, how to invite guests… After many times of being guided, learning and helping each other, now the community tourism model in Da Bia has made tourism much more professional. Thanks to that, we can provide better and higher quality tourism services and products to tourists.”
Currently, Da Bia hamlet has 5 community guesthouses with living spaces imbued with the stilt house culture of the Muong Da Bac people. Along with Da Bia hamlet, farmers in hamlets and villages along the lake have also converted from purely agricultural activities to tourism. In Da Bac district, there are also homestay hamlets and villages that have created good impressions on domestic and foreign tourists such as Ke hamlet (Hien Luong commune), Sung hamlet (Cao Son commune)…
Located along the Da River lake, Da Bia hamlet is a famous community tourism village of Hoa Binh province that has been voted and received the ASEAN Community Tourism Award in 2019. Previously, in June 2014, the non-governmental organization Action on Poverty (AOP) of Australia in Vietnam in collaboration with the People’s Committee of Da Bac district implemented the “Community Tourism in Da Bac” project. Da Bia Hamlet is one of the villages selected for support in community tourism.
With the orientation of attracting investment in developing tourism in the direction of high quality, diversifying and improving the quality of advantageous tourism products, Hoa Binh province and non-profit organizations have invested, supported preferential loans and provided guidance and “hand-holding” for Da Bac farmers. On that basis, people have grasped the policies and guidelines of the province. From there, people together protect the environment, preserve the natural resources bestowed on the Hoa Binh Lake area to bring a clean and beautiful landscape to attract tourists.
According to statistics from the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, before the pandemic, the total number of visitors, revenue, domestic and foreign visitors to Hoa Binh Lake area were all very high. Specifically, in 2018, Hoa Binh welcomed over 295,000 visitors, tourism revenue reached 74 billion VND; in 2019, it welcomed over 320,000 visitors, tourism revenue reached 80 billion VND. Currently, the Da Bac community tourism experience program is also attracting tourists with the theme of learning about customs, habits and life of the people in the lake…. In particular, the Da Bac community tourism experience program attracts international tourists thanks to its wild nature, unique culture, and rich exploration activities. Foreign tourists are very fond of learning about customs, visiting local houses, learning about life, exploring craft villages or traditional dishes with the unique flavors of this place.
Coming to Da Bac tourism, tourists will be surprised by the model of self-sufficient shops. These are small huts built around the roads of the village. Here, people will display and sell goods, agricultural products or available gifts that they make. Instead of buying goods and paying directly to the seller, tourists will put money in a pre-placed box. The amount will correspond to the value of the items, which is clearly stated by the people for each product. Sharing his experience at Da Bia hamlet, Mr. Bui Van Cuong said: “I was really surprised by the beauty of Da Bia hamlet. This is a very suitable place for developing community tourism, increasing the livelihood of farmers. Here, my family and I enjoyed an open space, were warmly welcomed by the locals, and enjoyed many attractive traditional dishes. In particular, I was very impressed with the village’s self-sufficient shop model. Although the products for sale are simply mountain and forest gifts such as pickled bamboo shoots, dried bamboo shoots, wild vegetables…, they bring a sense of closeness and familiarity. What’s more strange is that people can freely sell without having to look after or fear losing money. This shows that the security here is very good and tourists like me feel completely secure.”
Coming to Da Bia tourism, visitors will feel the changes taking place every day. Thanks to community tourism copper, people have come closer to tourists. Thanks to that, the beauty of Da Bia is increasingly prominent, poverty is no longer present in the land of Hoa Binh Lake. However, no matter how much changes, the beauty of the landscape, the sacred cultural values will still be maintained, continued and taught to future generations by people./.
According to: hoabinh.gov.vn
