Updates from Sapa

After a successful trip around Hanoi, the Red Dao women made it back to Ta Phin full of new ideas. After getting off the night train, the CBT team split into two teams: Team Ta Phin and Team Lao Chai.

The focus for Team Ta Phin was to debrief after the tour operator meetings.  The entrepreneurs had gained insight into the tourism industry within Vietnam and were keen to put their ideas to work. The first step was meeting with local government to help build these newly developed relationships.  With that underway the women were able to focus on product development.  Some 'experiences' that the women are working on are cooking classes, herbal bath, walking tours and embroidery lessons.  These will augment the homestay product already in place.

Team Lao Chai had a different challenge; as this project is in its infancy the team spent much of their time researching the community, visiting potential homestays and discussing how much it would be to upgrade their homes so tourists would be attracted to stay the evening.  The message was beginning to take hold but there still was some uncertainty; on Sunday, the first homestay-owners from Ta Phin joined the Lao Chai team and presented their experiences with the development of community-based tourism.  There was noticeable excitement amongst Lao Chai's potential homestay-owners and they had a chance to talk more over lunch. 

The group departed around 3:00pm and felt that the day was a success, with four more CBT visits planned steps will be made to provide avenues for Lao Chai to also succeed.