Women in Nghe An's border commune support each other in community tourism

The "3 in 1" economic method of women in Hanh Dich has been implemented for more than a year now. They have established a labor exchange group to help each other with agricultural production; have assigned tasks in raising livestock and weaving fabrics to provide raw materials and souvenirs for homestays; and have also taken on the role of tour guides and actors performing folk songs and dances imbued with national identity to serve tourist groups who come to visit and experience.

Join hands to do community tourism

Huoi Dan stream flows through Hanh Dich commune and has many beautiful waterfalls. Photo: CSCC

The first days of summer are considered the "golden" time for tourism in the villages next to the waterfall complex in the border commune of Hanh Dich. This place is located entirely in the Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, the lush green space of the mountains and forests always has an irresistible attraction for those who love the purity of wild nature and the rich cultural identity of the ethnic minorities in the highlands.

Nestled along the Huoi Dan stream with many beautiful waterfalls, the villages of the border commune of Hanh Dich peacefully live in harmony with the nature of the mountains and forests. With 199 households, located along the stream and 7-storey waterfall, the ancient Thai village of Long Thang in Hanh Dich commune has many advantages to attract tourists to visit, enjoy the products, and experience the customs and cultural identity of the Thai ethnic group.

For generations, women have been almost exclusively associated with the fields and weaving looms. However, in the past two years, there have been changes for the people, especially for women. That is the dynamism in thinking and working, the households here, with the support of the State, have boldly invested in building 6 homestay facilities operating in groups.

Long Thang Women's Union promotes tourism products and provides tourism services to tourist groups. Photo: CSCC

Having mastered "tourism", before each time welcoming tourists, the sisters returned to the "headquarters" to discuss and assign tasks. Late in the morning of February 24, having just returned from the rice fields, the sisters met to assign tasks in preparing rice wine, raising chickens and pigs, and taking care of the clean vegetable garden to serve the group of nearly 40 tourists who would come to Long Thang village to experience homestay services on March 25-26.

Ms. Lo Thi Tien further explained that the "headquarters" that the sisters set up at Lam Khang homestay is also the first homestay established in Hanh Dich. After that, Ms. Tien's family also built Ha Van Thuy homestay at the end of 2022. Her family's homestay is one of 6 tourist service points right at the foot of the 7-storey waterfall, forming a "company" of homestay services in Long Thang village. The way it works is that all 6 households work together from providing food to performing arts and acting as tour guides to help tourists visit the waterfall and visit the village.

“When a group of guests arrives, the sisters will focus on serving the tourists with food and rest at the main location of the “company”, which is Lam Khang homestay. If there are many guests and the accommodation needs of Lam Khang are not enough, they will be distributed to nearby homestays,” added Ms. Lo Thi Mai.

The labor exchange groups of the Hanh Dich Women's Association regularly meet and assign tasks before welcoming delegations. Photo: Hoai Thu

“Each sister who participates in the service will receive a salary of 200,000 to 300,000 VND depending on the size of the group. In addition, the “company” will pay families who are assigned to provide vegetables, chicken, pork or rice wine according to the products,” added Ms. Lo Thi Tien, a member of the group of sisters helping each other.

The leader of the People's Committee of Hanh Dich commune said that in 2022, the number of tourists visiting Hanh Dich reached about 6,000, especially during the holidays of April 30 - May 1, reaching more than 3,000. By helping each other in economic activities, women of Long Thang village as well as other villages in Hanh Dich are increasingly united in labor and production.

Self-motivated work exchange groups

Entering March, the rice fields in Hanh Dich are now lush green. From the joy of the development of community tourism services, the fields and gardens of the people have also become a factor contributing to the "new profession" of tourism of the people along the Huoi Dan River.

Women in Long Thang village, Hanh Dich commune help each other weed the 2023 spring-summer rice crop. Photo: Hoai Thu

Here, after a long time being affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, along with the "boost" in developing community tourism, there have now been many clear changes. That is the dynamism and self-awareness in helping each other do business, produce livestock and grow crops of associations and unions.

Following the "3 in 1" sisters of Long Thang village to the fields to help each other weed peanuts and rice in the spring-summer season, Ms. Lo Thi Huong said that for a long time, the sisters often helped each other do business in a "rolling" way, each family would send 1 person to help each household finish their work, then move on to help the next family. "Today, the sisters focused on helping the families in Long Thang village weed rice and peanuts. Each field is finished. Working together will be faster and more fun" - Ms. Huong said.

Not only do women exchange labor to help each other in production, but this has also become an effective way for people in this border commune, helping to effectively complete many production models. For example, the model of growing melons in Vinh Tien village brings in an income of 3 - 4 million VND/ha; the model of growing taro and peanuts in Long Thang village has brought in a stable income for the past 2 years.

Thanks to the "rolling" method, many agricultural production models in Hanh Dich exceeded their targets in terms of productivity and output. Photo: Hoai Thu

Hanh Dich people grow 2 rice crops/year with more than 280 hectares, yielding an average of 55 quintals/hectare, an increase of 5.25% compared to 2021. Lotus peanut output also exceeded the plan by 5.9%, reaching 22.5 tons, with a yield of 25 quintals/hectare.

The women not only directly grow crops and raise livestock, but also participate in tourism services and undertake performing arts activities on holidays and New Year's and serve tourists. Thanks to this dynamic way of working, households in Long Thang village are gradually becoming more confident in their economic development and creating joy and excitement in their spiritual life, contributing to building a more peaceful and prosperous border village.