Trang A Chu’s unique homestay
(VEN) - The A Chu Homestay in Son La Province’s Hua Tat Village welcomes as many as 3,000 foreign visitors annually, but it did not start out that way. In fact, it was on the verge of shutting down just a few years ago.
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| Tourists tour the village on small farm trucks |
Tough beginnings
The owner of the A Chu Homestay in Van Ho District, Trang A Chu, pioneered his business in 2015 with almost no money or knowhow. His journey could have come to a dead end without the help of Duong Minh Binh, Director of the Community-Based Tourism Vietnam Company, who runs dozens of successful homestay models throughout the country.
Binh even invited a five-star hotel chef to guide A Chu in preparing dishes from locally available ingredients. On opening day in late 2015, A Chu Homestay welcomed representatives of 35 travel companies and subsequently began hosting foreign tourists.
But A Chu, a member of the H’Mong ethnic group, was still struggling at the time to grow corn while having to complete building a stilt house to welcome guests. He was so tired and overwhelmed by the strict tourist requirements that he considered giving up.
“After some arguments with Binh, I learned that the little things that Binh wanted us to adhere to are valuable practical experiences in doing community tourism,” said Trang A Chu.
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| Trang A Chu plays the flute to entertain tourists |
Originally a small stilt house, A Chu Homestay now offers 10 uniquely designed private rooms. Despite the debt he has accumulated, A Chu believes his business has turned a corner.
Spreading enthusiasm
Like many other tourism businesses, A Chu Homestay suffered greatly from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic but it has made an impressive recovery with increasing number of bookings every day.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks with Trang A Chu and his wife at their homestay |
In addition to sleeping accommodations and food, A Chu also introduces his guests to H’Mong cultural activities, such as making Dó paper, pounding rice into a type of round-shaped cake known as “banh day”, grinding corn and more. In addition to serving as tourist draws, these activities help preserve traditional arts and increase the incomes of ethnic minorities in the remote Hua Tat Village.
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“Community tourism has its own unique characteristics. I want to spread the fire and enthusiasm to everyone and I believe this will make our A Chu Homestay a unique attraction,” A Chu said.
| Located along National Highway 6, about 15 km from the Moc Chau Plateau, Hua Tat Village is one of the rare community-based tourism villages that retains the special traditional culture of the H’Mong ethnic group. |
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