ADB-backed Community Tourism Project a Success in Vietnam

The community tourism model, inteneded to help poverty-hit areas in Vietnam, has been among many projects backed by the Asian Development Bank in recent years, and successful examples can now be observed in many regions in the north-central province of Quang Binh.

Thanks to those projects, local residents who previously earned a living by working in paddy fields or collecting logs for sale, sometimes through deforestation, now understand how to conduct tourism-related business in a professional manner.

The grounding for success, as observed in Chay Lap, a village in Phuc Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, is the smooth cooperation between the government, residents and a professional tourism company, with financial assistance from the ADB.

Life changing

Le Thi Hue, a cook at the Chay Lap farmstay, is one vivid example of how the community tourism project has changed local villagers’ lives.

Hue used to work all day in the field before she was recruited to the Chay Lap farmstay, where she was trained to be a chef’s assistant.

She has signed a contract with the company for a monthly wage of VND3.5 million ($156), and has her husband as a colleague. The husband is in charge of maintenance at the farmstay area with a salary of VND5 million ($223) a month.

It is not difficult for Hue to see how her life has changed.

While the four-member family would earn VND30 million ($1,339) after a year working tirelessly in the paddy field, the husband and wife now collectively make VND8.5 million ($379) per month.

After escaping poverty, Chay Lap villagers are now able to invest in education for the next generation.

A house at the Chay Lap farmstay

While most children in the village would quit school at grade three or four, there are now 47 secondary students and 13 high school students in Chay Lap.

The community tourism project has brought changes not only in the income of local villagers, but also in their way of life and behavior.

“There are obvious improvements in the way people here speak and behave, beautifying themselves in the eyes of tourists,” Thai remarked.

For visits:
http://chaylapfarmstay.com/
https://www.facebook.com/chaylapfarmstay/?__mref=message_bubble