Unique coconut house on An Binh island

The boat cut through the waves, crossed the Tien River with its rolling alluvium on a rainy morning in the West, and brought us to An Binh Islet. The vastness of the river did not make visitors from the faraway Central region who first visited Vinh Long afraid. Perhaps the excitement of visiting the coconut house considered the most unique in Vietnam made us forget that feeling when traveling in the middle of the vast river.

Cu Lao An Binh, the name evokes peace. In such a space, the Cocohome Coconut House of Mrs. Nguyen Ngoc Giac (No. 203A/12 Hoa Quy Hamlet, Hoa Ninh Commune, Long Ho District, Vinh Long Province) also exudes a peaceful, airy look. To create this project, Mrs. Giac and her husband spent a lot of time, effort and put all their heart into it.

Ms. Ngoc Giac's house is recognized as Vietnam Coconut House - Photo: HN

It is impressive when entering the Cocohome Coconut House, visitors see the familiar image of the coconut tree. When brought here, the coconuts are processed into decorative and household items, but the artisans retain their natural color, so it is easy to recognize the characteristics.

Through the talented hands of artisans, the rough, dry coconut trees seem to transform into new shapes and forms that carry the soul of the homeland. To add elegance to the garden, the homeowner cleverly displays ornamental flower pots in front of the porch. The garden has a lotus pond, a small fruit garden, all facing the windy river.

Inside the 300 ^m2 house with 3 rooms and 2 wings, all the household items and decorations are made of coconut with dark colors exuding luxury. Ms. Ngoc Giac enthusiastically leads visitors to visit the house and introduces the decorative items displayed inside.

Talking about the idea of creating Cocohome Coconut House, Ms. Giac shared: “My daughter studied at the English Pedagogical University but was passionate about tourism, so after graduating she became a tour guide. While leading tourists on tours in the West, my daughter always wondered about a tourism product that would leave a deep impression on foreign tourists but must be associated with the regional culture. After consulting my husband and I, my daughter chose coconut as the highlight because this tree is grown most concentratedly in the South. Coincidentally, my husband and I also once cherished the dream of building a house entirely from coconut trees.”

The project started in 2017 and was completed in 2019, made from 4,000 coconut trees at a cost of up to 6 billion VND, the house alone cost 2 billion VND. According to Ms. Giac, to have enough materials to build the project, the family had to go to Ben Tre to buy coconuts. The coconuts purchased must be 80-90 years old. In addition to creating a friendly living space close to the river delta of the West, the house contains many familiar products from the coconut trees of this peaceful island.

Depending on the stages, the family invited artisans from different places to carry out the work, so the cost of building the house was very expensive. The artisans used all parts of the coconut tree to create household items and decorations for the house. For example, the coconut roots were crafted into 12 zodiac animals and a pair of carp transforming into dragons placed in front of the house. The four parallel sentences and two paintings hanging in the house were made from coconut fiber and coconut shells.

“Coconut fibers are polished by artisans, cut and pasted onto the parallel sentences. Usually in traditional houses in the Southern region, people often hang parallel sentences with Chinese characters engraved on them, but we engrave them in Vietnamese so that everyone can read them,” said Ms. Giac.

The most difficult and laborious step is polishing the coconut tree trunk. Workers must saw and process the coconut fiber, then plan, trim and sand it with sandpaper until the rough wood grain is no longer visible. In addition, many joints and joints also require specialized bonding materials, making the cost more expensive. Therefore, although not too large, it took her family more than two years with 30 workers working continuously to complete this unique house.

Unique coconut house on An Binh island

Lovely items made from coconut trees - Photo: HN

With a total area of over 6076.2 ^m2 , in the Cocohome Coconut House campus there are many fruit gardens such as grapes, strawberries, rambutans... planted along the pond. To create a landscape highlight, the owner of the house also planted many green coconut trees, creating a feeling of a space surrounded by coconuts. Cocohome Coconut House has become an attractive tourist destination for visitors with many interesting activities such as visiting the fruit garden, country cuisine. Currently, the house is used by Mrs. Giac's family as a homestay service for guests to relax, travel and visit.

On June 7, 2021, the Chairman of Vinh Long Provincial People's Committee issued a decision to recognize Cocohome Coconut House as a provincial tourist destination. On November 5, 2023, the Vietnam Coconut Association certified Cocohome Coconut House as a Vietnamese Coconut House. This is the first time the Vietnam Coconut Association has certified coconut products in the field of architecture and construction, so this can be considered a unique, first, and only record in the country.

With a scale of about 10 rooms and registered on online booking services, the coconut house is visited by many tourists. A rather special thing is that because An Binh island area currently does not have a bridge across the river, traveling by boat to this tourist area is very interesting, especially for tourists from far away. Going by boat on the immense river, watching the lives of people on both sides of the island is an unforgettable experience.

Cocohome Coconut House is a charming highlight, blending into the river tourism picture on An Binh island that always captivates visitors from all over.

Hoai Nam

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