On the days before Tet At Ty, Tra Que vegetable village is bustling and bustling.
The joy of being honored by the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) as "Best Tourist Village of 2024" continues to spread throughout the suburbs of the World Cultural Heritage - the ancient town of Hoi An (Quang Nam).
COUNTING MONEY IS SO TIRED!
I first came to Tra Que (Cam Ha, Hoi An) in 2003, right when Hoi An launched a tour called "Tra Que Vegetable Village" with many new experiences. Spending half a day here, the feeling of someone who grew up from straw and stubble like me was "just normal", because the rows of cabbage, lettuce, cinnamon, basil, coriander, Vietnamese coriander, dill... were just like any other vegetable garden in Quang Nam, what was so interesting about it! Even the Tam Huu dish (locals call it "smelly shrimp") that Tra Que people took turns promoting as a specialty, I waited patiently to try it, and found it... normal. It was just a stir-fried freshwater shrimp, sandwiched with a slice of boiled lean meat and basil, green onions tied around, dipped in fish sauce...
Oh, "normal, but why not normal"? Foreign tourists began to flock in, from America, France, Russia, Japan, Korea..., all of them. Groups of 16-seat, 30-seat, 50-seat vehicles lined up from the beginning of the village to the end of the hamlet, crowded. Everyone was excited to play the role of "A day as a farmer". On this side, they were hoeing the land, making beds, spreading fertilizer, sowing seeds, watering... On the other side, they were pulling cabbage, picking vegetables, bundling onions... They even went to people's houses, homestays (at that time there weren't many) to practice making Tam Huu dishes and enjoy them right there. Laughter, chatter, and "oh-oh" filled the morning and afternoon on the banks of the Co Co River. In the early days of eco-tourism, local residents were still confused about many things, not used to serving groups of tourists who loved to experience community tours, so they had to work and learn at the same time. And international tourists coming to Tra Que did not just "become farmers", eating only vegetables; they tried everything sold in the village. Services and trade flourished from there. Foreign currencies, thus, began to flow into farmers' pockets...
FROM NOTHING TO FAMOUS
Hoi An has many strengths in heritage tourism and craft villages - this is undeniable. Another advantage is that they are very good at marketing local brands in a natural way. Tra Que is an example.
Meet 9 strict criteria
Directly going to Quang Nam to present the certificate in early December 2024, Ms. Zoritsa Urosevic, Deputy Secretary General of UN Tourism, praised: The title "Best Tourist Village of 2024" was awarded to Tra Que vegetable village based on 9 strict criteria, including: cultural and natural resources; conservation and promotion of cultural resources; economic, social and environmental sustainability; tourism development associated with value chains; tourism management; infrastructure and connectivity; and criteria on health, security and safety.
Tra Que vegetable village is the only representative of Vietnam to be awarded this certificate in 2024 and is the third village of our country to be honored by UN Tourism, after Thai Hai village (Thai Nguyen) in 2022, Tan Hoa village (Quang Binh) in 2023.
Following the footsteps of Dai Viet immigrants conquering the South, this traditional village was formed in the 17th century. Tra Que is said to have been named by King Gia Long (another name is Nhu Que).
For a long time, Tra Que was just a small village, not much attention was paid to it, the residents lived by fishing. Then, the local people realized that the land in their village was fertile thanks to the alluvium and the water of the lower Thu Bon, and was enriched by moss from the De Vong River, so it was very good for growing vegetables and was very fragrant, so they switched to specializing in vegetable farming, until today.
Hoi An authorities and residents through generations have done a lot to have the best Tourist Village - Tra Que today.
Since 2019, Hoi An City People's Committee issued Decision No. 1766/QD-UBND approving the Community Tourism Development Plan in Tra Que Vegetable Village.
On December 13, 2021, Hoi An City People's Committee issued Project No. 3603/DA-UBND on "Developing Hoi An tourism to 2025, with a vision to 2030" and on July 6, 2022, continued to issue Plan No. 1838/KH-UBND on "Developing Hoi An green tourism to 2025". Accordingly, the government is determined to "green future" of Tra Que: Preserving intact the unique traditional farming method, using only seaweed species in Tra Que lagoon and composted organic fertilizers for farming; absolutely do not use mechanization and chemical fertilizers, pesticides... Through tourism activities, the cultural values (beliefs, festivals...) of the village are preserved and promoted.
Thanks to tireless efforts, in April 2022, Tra Que vegetable growing was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage, belonging to the category of folk knowledge and traditional handicrafts. Then, in 2023, Hoi An officially became a member of the UNESCO Global Creative Cities Network in the field of handicrafts and folk arts. Thanks to this launching pad, Tra Que vegetable village's profile was soon recognized by UN Tourism as "Best Tourist Village of 2024", announced in November of the same year.
Now, among the 4 million tourists who come and stay in Hoi An every year, how many have not fallen in love with Tra Que?! Each tourist is also an "ambassador", taking this brand further and spreading it more widely.
This popular dish has been found in restaurants and eateries in Hoi An, Da Nang, Tam Ky, then "boarded a plane" to Ho Chi Minh City and followed overseas Vietnamese to many countries. Tra Que has naturally become an international vegetable brand! Diners who eat Tra Que vegetables are addicted. The vegetable is fresh - green - clean, with tiny, thin leaves and small stems, but has a strange aroma! If customers like it, restaurants have to accommodate it, and it becomes a difficult choice to replace. "Good wine needs no bush", Tra Que vegetables have become a famous specialty without spending much on marketing!
ECO-CITY WITHIN REACH
I asked Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee: The reputation is like that, but what do the local people get in "the meat"?
Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee, representing the local government, received the title of "Best Tourist Village of 2024" for Tra Que vegetable village from Ms. Zoritsa Urosevic, Deputy Secretary General of UN Tourism, on the evening of December 10, 2024. Photo: TRAN THUONG
"The community benefits a lot!". Here is the answer, very impressive: First: With 202 households including 326 workers directly growing 55 types of vegetables on 18 hectares, harvesting about 800 tons of safe quality vegetables each year, meeting VietGAP standards, tourism activities in Tra Que are creating jobs and increasing income for residents. Currently, the average income of residents is 56.11 million VND/person/year; the average revenue from the production and consumption of clean vegetables of 202 households in the village is about 12 billion VND/year.
Second: Realizing the goal of developing green tourism. With traditional farming methods, Tra Que craft village residents aim for green consumption, green tourism and sustainable tourism, in line with Hoi An City's policy of building an ecological city. The village's organic vegetable products brought to the market are all safe for public health. The "From garden to table" model is increasingly popular with international tourists because it meets the requirements of food safety and environmental protection. Instead of having to go to a restaurant to enjoy delicious dishes, when coming to Tra Que, visitors are taken to visit the garden, learn about the process of growing and caring for clean vegetables, processing and enjoying many vegetable dishes, drinks and some local specialties such as Quang noodles, Cao Lau, Banh Xeo... in the middle of cool green nature.
Foreign tourists experience Tra Que vegetable village
As Tet approaches, more and more tourists visit Tra Que. The whole village is busy day and night with the spring vegetable crop. With more and more successful green tourism models like Tra Que, Hoi An will soon become an ecological city.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/phai-long-tra-que-196250114092026817.htm
Comment (0)