The Dao Tien boy and the journey to awaken community tourism

From corn in the morning to an attractive tourist destination

From the center of Cao Bang province, traveling nearly 50km of the winding road embracing the mountainside, visitors will meet Lung Muoi hamlet (Quang Thanh commune, Nguyen Binh district) - a peaceful valley where the Dao Tien community lives.

In that space, the Lung Muoi homestay of young man Chu Tien Thanh appeared as an attractive rustic highlight. The wooden house is located separately by the stream, higher than the roofs in the village, so the view is wide and spacious.

Every hook, sink, and household items are made from wood, bamboo, and bamboo, preserving the natural beauty of the mountains and forests. On the wooden walls, traditional Dao Tien costumes are displayed as a welcoming to visitors to the indigenous culture.

Chu Tien Thanh is a Dao Tien boy (born in 1992), the only son in a family of three sisters. Since childhood, witnessing poverty haunting the people when the whole village mainly lived on corn and self-sufficiency, he was determined to find a new direction.

Leaving the village to study, he realized that his hometown has great tourism potential when it is located in the UNESCO Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark area with a series of heritage sites such as Lang Mon ancient coral, Phai Kat fort, Tinh Tuc suspension valley, Vonfram Lung Muoi mine, Phja Oac peak...

After graduating from the University of Home Affairs and continuing to study Tourism, Thanh returned to his hometown with the dream of doing community tourism. To accumulate experience, Thanh chose to be a tour guide for tourists to Cao Bang, through each trip he clearly understands the need to experience indigenous culture - something that Lung Muoi has enough but has not exploited.

When deciding to open a homestay on the family's main land, Thanh had to spend a lot of time convincing her parents.

Luckily, he received support from a friend who was running a homestay in Trung Khanh commune, and was also given an advance capital of 300500 million VND to build the first wooden house.

But when the homestay was just built, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there were no customers, and the village was not used to the new model, so many people expressed their doubts.

However, Thanh was not discouraged. He took photos himself, wrote promotional articles on social media, and connected with friends in the tourism industry to introduce customers.

The day the homestay welcomed the first group of guests, he was both happy and worried. Then when he received positive feedback from tourists about the landscape, space and the sincerity of the people here became the motivation for him to move forward.

Doing tourism from the heart and aspiration to change the village

Not only is Thanh a close young boss, he is also the main "chief chef" at the homestay. He prepares indigenous chicken, black pigs, stream fish... in the traditional way of the Dao Tien people with spices from wild leaves, creating a unique flavor.

He guides visitors down to the stream to catch snails, go to the fields to catch fish, go to the hills to pick wild vegetables, and then prepare meals together - in the spirit of the tourism experience. Thanh's concept is very clear: "Each destination must tell a story".

The way of traveling of Dao Tien does not stop at his own homestay. He shared his experience with surrounding households, encouraging people to change their thinking, combining farming with tourism.

Families in Hoai Khao - 7km from Lung Muoi - are instructed by Thanh on how to welcome guests, promote, and preserve the architecture of yin-yang tiles, traditional rice warehouses, and beeswax printing...

Thanh does not keep visitors for himself but proactively leads tourists to other villages so that people can earn income together, always knowing how to integrate cultural preservation with economic development.

Thanks to that spread, every month Lung Muoi homestay welcomes 50100 guests, creating jobs for local workers such as cleaning rooms, cooking, and performing arts.

Thanh also purchased agricultural products from the people to serve tourists, creating a tourism - agricultural value chain right in the valley.

Not stopping there, he is also building more wooden houses by the stream, building water cages to make landscapes, opening tea clubs, and learning more cooking skills and tour guides to improve service quality.

What he hopes for is not only to "beautify the homestay", but also to build a sustainable community tourism ecosystem, where every citizen has the opportunity to escape poverty with their own identity.

Thanh shared: "I want customers to come back many times. Every time he comes, we will see things differently, better, but still keep the soul of the Dao Tien people".

Aspiration from a small valley

From the early days of doubting to today becoming a bright spot for Nguyen Binh tourism, Chu Tien Thanh's journey is a testament to his youthfulness, perseverance and love for his homeland.

His dream is not only a crowded homestay but also to build Lung Muoi into a model community tourism village, where Dao Tien culture is preserved through each housework, each dish, each experience.

With a unique bright smile, Thanh said that he wanted Lung Muoi homestay to become a "connecting point" between tourist routes around the region, especially the route to Phja Oac peak - where there is a scenic spot at an altitude of nearly 2,000m.

He believes that if he knows how to connect with destinations, tourists will stay longer, spend more, and have more sustainable sources of income. In addition, Thanh also hopes that local authorities will soon complete the construction of traffic routes.

Because when roads are convenient, more visitors will come and then the whole village can travel together professionally.

For Chu Tien Thanh, the award is not as important as seeing the village change every day: the road to the homestay is cleaner and more beautiful, children are more confident when meeting guests, many families are starting to plan to repair their houses to welcome tourists.

From a barren corn field, where there was only a wind blowing through the cliffs, Lung Muoi today has become a valley of hope.

And there, there is the image of a persistent, calm Dao Tien young man, contributing to awakening the potential of his homeland with his own love and aspiration.