Located in the western part of Nghe An Province, Quy Chau is inhabited by Thai ethnic people whose tradition is based on rice cultivation and textile and woodwork crafts.

Thai women in Hoa Tien Village have been well known for their brocade weaving techniques and skills for many generations.

The brocade products were originally made for family needs and as a dowry for brides. The Thai women in Hoa Tien are adept at weaving silk and cotton and using herbs, flowers, leaves, and bark as natural dyes, adding unique value to their products.

A variety of activities for every taste awaits visitors to Hoa Tien. They have an opportunity to enjoy local foods, learn how to make banh chung (square glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and fat pork) and drink local wine.

They can also join in brocade weaving, bamboo dancing, a game of throwing cotton balls and Nhuon singing activities. Foreign visitors are drawn to Hoa Tien Village out of curiosity about the cultures of the different ethnic groups in general and of the Thai in particular. Being able to join in local activities adds a particularly worthwhile dimension to the visit.

Marcos Daniel from Portugal said he enjoyed trying to make banh chung and other cakes. Jagli Lena from Switzerland said she participated in many Vietnamese traditional games but loved performing the bamboo dance most. Most foreign visitors to the western part of Nghe An Province choose homestay tours which expose them to first-hand information and experience of local life and culture.

Brocade production, watering wheels, and folk games have been well preserved in Hoa Tien. Nguyen Thanh Ha, Deputy Chairman of the Quy Chau District People’s Committee, said many delegations, including foreign visitor groups, come to Hoa Tien both for cultural research and culinary enjoyment. The district is developing ecological tours to attract more visitors in the coming time, Ha said.

Nghe An is strengthening regional connectivity by encouraging travel businesses to work with local residents and authorities to develop community-based tours.

Community based tourism develops in western Nghe An
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized Western Nghe An as a world biosphere reserve with the core being Pu Mat National Park. Since 2011, UNESCO has help Nghe An Province develop community tourism models to promote local natural and human strengths.

Enjoying the Thai’s traditional dishes
We went to Yen Khe Hamlet in an early day of winter and were welcomed by a 40 year old agile woman. Her name is Lo Thi Hoa.

Her stilt house in the Nua Hamlet, Yen Khe Commune, Con Cuong District is one of the few remaining Thai ethnic traditional houses. “Once visitors came and hamlet chiefs asked me to welcome them and cook traditional dishes for dinner. After returning home, they sent a message through the Pu Mat National Park Management Board expressing their wish to choose our home as a community tourism destination,” She recalled.

To be selected as a community tourism destination, local families followed community tourism models applied in Lac Hamlet, a famous community tourism destination in Mai Chau District, Hoa Binh Province. Through community tourism training sessions, local people have gradually become aware of how to implement community tourism.

According to Head of Con Cuong District’s Culture Department Nguyen Huy Chuong, this new and distinct model will become one of Con Cuong’s long term strengths after being properly promoted. To date, nearly 50 domestic and international delegations have visited Pu Mat National Park on community-based tourism trips. In fact, the district welcomed nearly 17,000 visitors in 2012, including more than 200 international guests.

Con Cuong has many advantages compared to many other tourist destinations in terms of nature and culture. There is Kem waterfall, Giang river, Sang Le forest, Moc stream, and Pha Lai dam. Tourists will stay with locals in the hamlets of Nua, Bao Thanh, and Thai Hoa and Lang Xieng in the four communes of Bong Khe, Yen Khe, Lu Da, and Mon Son. They can enjoy folk songs, Can wine and special traditional dishes.

Currently, community tourism is the form best suited to Western Nghe An, especially when the province’s hotels have not met visitor’s needs. The number of tourist delegations recorded in the past two years was small compared to local potential as due to limited and inexperienced tourism promotion.

In fact, quite large numbers of tourists visit Pu Mat but it is mostly spontaneous, and they have not been able to enjoy the traditional cultural and natural characteristics. A number of travel companies in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City would like to link to perform trans-Vietnam tours but then they decided to stop after taking into account local poor infrastructure and difficulties in police and immigration procedures between Laos and Vietnam. Currently, the community tourism development plan has been approved for four hamlets, but so far only Nua is operational. Dong Du Banana Bungalow is a cozy and pleasant place to relax, soak up and unwind if you travel along HCM road from North to South or vice versa