Bru - Van Kieu people do community tourism

Taking advantage of the available natural landscape, the Bru - Van Kieu ethnic people in the mountainous commune of Huong Viet, Huong Hoa district (Quang Tri) have exploited community tourism at Ta Puong waterfall. The new model has not been in operation for long but has achieved many remarkable results, thereby opening up a new direction for economic development.

Photo caption — Visitors to Ta Puong waterfall can immerse themselves in the cool water at the foot of the waterfall.

About 130km from Dong Ha city, following the West branch of Ho Chi Minh road, Ta Puong waterfall is located deep in the forest, about 30 minutes walk from residential areas. Endowed with majestic beauty by nature, Ta Puong waterfall (also known as Ta Puong Moon) flows down from high mountains, cool all year round. Below the waterfall is a jade green lake, surrounded by lush trees. Following the flow of the waterfall is Ta Puong stream, bringing water to the village for the villagers to use in daily life and agricultural production. With the landscape favored by nature, in 2022, a number of Van Kieu people in Ta Puong village gathered to establish a Community Tourism Group to exploit tourism. By early 2023, the Group had a decision to officially establish. Currently, in addition to 5 official members, the Group also has nearly 20 people participating in tourism services at Ta Puong waterfall, opening up a direction for community tourism development and attracting tourists.

Mr. Ho Van Gioi, Head of the Ta Puong Community Tourism Group, Huong Viet Commune, said: "With the desire to promote the beautiful scenery of our homeland and traditional culture to tourists near and far, we came up with the idea and implemented the establishment of the Ta Puong Village Community Tourism Group". In the beginning, because of the difficult mountainous terrain and the long and dangerous roads, exploiting this tourist destination took many working days. The most difficult part of the operation was the rainy season, when floods washed away everything and had to start over. Overcoming all of that, up to now, Ta Puong waterfall has become an ideal destination for those who love adventure and discovery. In early April, the number of visitors to Ta Puong waterfall was crowded and bustling. Visitors mainly traveled in groups, especially on weekends and holidays. After leaving their vehicles at the parking lot, after about 30 minutes of walking through the forest, visitors will arrive at Ta Puong waterfall to sightsee, bathe, eat, rest, and have fun. In the midst of hot summer days, being immersed in majestic nature is the highlight of the trip. In addition, guests will enjoy local culinary services with specialties such as wild vegetables, cool fish, grilled chicken, boiled banana flowers, sticky rice, rice wine, bamboo rice...

Mr. Le Pham Xuan Quy, a tourist from Da Nang, shared that he knew about the majestic beauty of Ta Puong waterfall from pictures in the press and really wanted to explore. The trip brought him and his friends many interesting experiences when they were immersed in the wild and majestic beauty of the waterfall, mountains and forests, breathed the fresh air, immersed themselves in the cool, clear water of the lake and enjoyed the specialties of the Van Kieu people. The service was simple but the new experience made him and his friends very happy. He will definitely come back.

Mr. Ho Van Sinh, Chairman of Huong Viet Commune People's Committee, said that taking advantage of the beauty of the unique natural landscape, unique in the traditional culture of ethnic minorities, developing community tourism is considered a key task of the locality. Although it has only been operating for nearly 2 years, the community tourism model in Ta Puong has shown positive signs. The number of visitors in the summer is very large.

In order for the model to develop effectively, in the near future, the locality will start construction of roads to Ta Puong waterfall and Klum cave; at the same time, build a strategy for developing community tourism with a sustainable orientation. The locality promotes the development of traditional craft villages, small-scale industries such as weaving, rattan and bamboo products, weaving, etc. to serve tourism, create jobs, increase income and improve people's lives. According to Mr. Dang Trong Van, Chairman of Huong Hoa District People's Committee, the district has over 50% of the population being Pa Ko and Van Kieu ethnic minorities, living in particularly difficult areas with economic difficulties. Developing sustainable livelihoods for people is always a top priority. Taking advantage of local advantages such as natural landscapes with systems of caves, waterfalls, streams; costumes; cuisine; culture, etc. to invest in developing community tourism is a new direction that the district is interested in. The district currently has a community tourism area at Chenh Venh waterfall and community tourism at Trang Ta Puong which have been initially exploited effectively, contributing to creating jobs for local people. The district will continue to focus on investment and have policies to support the development of community tourism to improve people's lives, towards sustainable poverty reduction.