Hoa Binh: Interesting experience of Da Bia community tourism model

About 15km from the center of Hoa Binh city, Da Bia still retains its unique cultural features, suitable for community tourism. Households in Da Bia have renovated their houses and participated in the Homestay model with the desire to welcome more domestic and foreign tourists to experience the life of the Muong people here.

Xom Da Bia welcomes domestic and foreign tourists.

When mentioning Xom Da Bia, many people will only know that this is a hamlet of the Muong Ao Ta ethnic group living along the Da River, where people mainly live on farming, aquaculture and fishing. About 15km from the center of Hoa Binh city with many rich natural resources, Da Bia still retains unique cultural features, suitable for community tourism. Perhaps that is why Action on Poverty (AOP) in Vietnam has chosen this place to develop the “Community Tourism” project since June 2014. To get to Da Bia hamlet (in Da Bac district, Hoa Binh), the easiest way for tourists is to go by water on Hoa Binh lake. Along the journey from Thung Nai port to Da Bia hamlet, which takes 1.5 hours, tourists can admire the place known as “Ha Long Bay on the mountain” of Vietnam. A place with a poetic landscape that seems isolated from the outside world, but here, everything from the lifestyle to the stilt houses are still pristine, that is what really attracts tourists.

Getting off the boat and arriving at Da Bia hamlet, the villagers dress in Muong clothes to welcome visitors. At Da Bia, tourists will be awakened by the loudspeaker that echoes throughout the hamlet early in the morning. For breakfast at Da Bia, visitors can enjoy many typical dishes of the Muong people such as ribs fried with shrimp paste, wild bee pupae fried with sour bamboo shoot juice, buffalo meat stir-fried with wild pepper, buffalo meat cooked with lolot leaves, snails cooked with lolot leaves, wild banana tree soup, pomelo leaf sausage, etc. Many visitors even like to make traditional dishes with the locals to learn more about the cuisine here.

A carefully prepared meal at Dinh Thu Homestay, Da Bia Hamlet.

Locals guide tourists to make snail cake.

The result of snail cake dipped in sesame salt.

After breakfast, visitors will follow the villagers, who still call themselves “amateur guides” to explore the culture of this wild land. The unique wooden houses of the Muong people attract tourists at first sight. If in the city, every house has a convenient lock, the stilt houses in Da Bia do not need a lock, no partitions, everyone can go around and visit each other easily. You also do not need to turn on the air conditioner because the evenings here are extremely cool. All homestays in Da Bia overlook Hoa Binh Lake, making everyone who comes here to experience it feel extremely comfortable.

Homestay by the lake.

Homestay at Da Bia is cleaned up to welcome visitors.

In Da Bia, visitors will be surprised to see people buying and selling at self-service stalls. The self-service stalls have been maintained without sellers for more than 60 years and have never lost money. The sellers all display their own agricultural products with prices attached, and anyone who wants to buy will voluntarily leave money in the basket.

Tu Giac stall has been maintained for 60 years.

The daily activities of the local people are introduced by tour guides for visitors to experience. You will walk through the poetic bamboo forest of Da Bia, through corn fields, stilt houses stained with time under the shade of persimmon, jackfruit or honey trees, … Children chirp when they see strangers, toothless old ladies smile gently through the window.

Tourists experience the Luong forest.

The most interesting thing is probably when you finish the Luong forest, you will go down to the lake to take a boat to visit the cage fish farming model. The livelihood model combined with tourism not only helps develop the long-term economy for the people but is also an interesting place to visit for every tourist. Although the fish cages are located in the middle of the lake, thanks to the bamboo rafts woven together to float on the water surface, visitors can easily walk around. Beautiful flower pots are designed and arranged around so that anyone who comes can take the most beautiful photos. Mr. Nguyen Van Anh, a resident of Da Bia, shared: “Here, raising fish takes one to two years to harvest, depending on the type and the wishes of the buyer. Each fish cage raises about a thousand fish. At first, it was very difficult because I didn’t have enough capital and didn’t have much skill, but when I was supported with a loan and training, I boldly tried and after 6 years, looking back, I am very satisfied.”

Fish cage farming – the livelihood model of Mr. Nguyen Van Anh under the lake.

The fish cage is in the middle of the lake but can still move around thanks to the bamboo rafts floating on the lake. The Northwest of the country is a majestic mountainous region, the land of white-blooming Ban flowers, the sweet land of love stories, magical epics, colorful costumes with many hot colors and the homeland of vibrant, captivating folk dances. And Hoa Binh, the gateway to the Northwest, is the same. This place also has the traditional dance of the Muong people that is attractive and will surely make anyone who enjoys it excited and passionate.

People of Da Bia hamlet perform Muong cultural performance. Doan Thao Ngan, a student of the Academy of Journalism and Propaganda, visited Da Bia hamlet, Da Bac and excitedly shared: “I really like the space here. When I got off the boat and saw the clean wooden houses, I was very happy. The rice here is also very delicious and has many unique dishes. The Muong ethnic people run homestays but still preserve the Muong culture, not just for mass tourism. The most impressive thing for me was being able to participate in making snail cakes with the locals. The people here are honest, open and hospitable.”

Tourists take pictures at Xom Da Bia, Da Bac. Xom Da Bia, Da Bac – Hoa Binh is still a mystery in the hearts of beauty lovers, because there are still many interesting things about nature and people that have not been fully discovered. This is truly a promised land for those who love to explore to experience. Source: VOV