Homestay training in Lao Chai goes into the kitchen

Food safety is one of the important issues for homestay owners. Tourists from developed countries want to stay healthy in order to best enjoy their travels, and a high level of food safety is required in order for homestays to service their guests appropriately. During this trip, we took two opportunities to deliver food safety training in Lao Chai.

On our second evening in the village, Rachael and Trung hosted a food safety class and welcome dinner at Mr. Chinh's homestay. The food safety class was tied to the preparation of the welcome dinner, and the training was delivered while the meal was prepared. The participants learned about appropriate food handling and cleaning techniques. They also learned how to cook french fries. French fries are one of the common foods that homestays cook for guests here - commonly served with salt, garlic and chilis.

Ms. Dy (shown here with Rachael) was one of the participants at the first food safety workshop.

Trung teaching Mai about cooking french fries. Mai owns the Sapa O'Chau homestay in Lao Chai.

The second learning opportunity was at Mr. Cho's house. Mr. Cho is hoping to open an authentic H'mong homestay and is beginning to start learning the skills required. At Mr. Cho's house, Ms. Ngoc Anh delivered a cooking and food safety class, while Ms. Huyen and Trung taught some of their children English.

Mr. Cho cleaning his cooking dishes with his youngest child

Learning proper cleaning technique from Ms. Ngoc An

Ready to cook!

Preparing some vegetables

The CBT team from HOU enjoying lunch with Mr. Cho and his family

Into the schools of Lao Chai

Nic and Ms. Huyen heading to teach at the Lao Chai Elementary School

After some great relationship building with the Lao Chai Elementary and Secondary Schools we were invited to come into their class rooms to teach the children. Nic Alder (CapilanoU) and Ms.Huyen (HOU) went to the elementary school where they taught English to two classes. The language in Lao Chai is H'mong. The children are learning to speak Vietnamese, and have only just began learning the basics of English.


Hard at work!

Rachael (CapilanoU) and Trung (HOU) went into the secondary school to teach the grade seven class. The children were eager to learn and excited to work on the team activity Rachael and Trung had planned. It took a lot of team work and communication, and the students performed above and beyond their expectations.


Trung and a student hanging the class drawings

Rachael, Trung and the English teacher, Mr. C.

The staff at both schools were excited to have us there and can't wait for the next CBT team and HOU team to come back. We are very much looking forward to our next opportunity!

Practicing their new English words with Rachael

Ta Phin is open for business!

Meeting with homestay owners and CBT Management Board in Ta Phin

On Thursday morning, homestay owners and a few other residents with close ties to the tourism industry met with the Ta Phin CBT Management Board. It was a great meeting with incredible outcomes. The packaging and pricing that the Board had drafted was modified with feedback from the homestay owners and approved by everyone who was present. The group also approved a penalty in case of complaints to ensure quality control would be maintained. The group also prepared for Sunday’s private sector workshop.

Meeting with homestay owners and CBT Management Board in Ta Phin

Capilano U at the Ashoka U Exchange

Our Capilano Global & Community Studies Faculty Dean, Chris Bottrill is showcasing the PATA Foundation-funded tourism training project (CBT Vietnam) today at the AshokaU Exchange conference in San Diego today. Ashoka U is the University division of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. AshokaU seeks out the and supports the worlds most innovative colleges and universities that are developing teaching, research, and collaborations to benefit society through social entrepreneurship. 

Kyle Sandilands has created yet another spectacular video and Chris will be using this in his 'Innovation Presentation'. The theme will be social entrepreneurship through partnership and demonstrates how Taphin is creating and managing its own tourism activities and building partnerships to sustain the community over the long term. 

The presentation is a concurrent session but the conference is attended by 650 delegates from over 150 universities and colleges around the world ranging from Ivy League to community college. All representatives have a common interest in facilitating social entrepreneurship and positive, proactive change making. 

CapilanoU has sent a team of six including students, faculty, our dean, and our President, Kris Bulcroft. Its great to be here!

CBT Management Board in Ta Phin taking great leaps

CBT Management Board meeting

On Wednesday evening, we held our second meeting with the Ta Phin Community-Based Tourism Management Board. The focus of this meeting was to make some decisions at the CBT Management Board level that would be brought to the homestay owners on Thursday morning. The Board worked through a number of issues, and the meeting was very productive.

We covered five key items:

1. Product pricing: The CBT Management Board was working on creating a list of tourism products available through the homestays in Ta Phin, and setting a fixed price for each. This will allow them to market themselves to the tour operators in Sapa and Hanoi more effectively, and be able to sell package tours through the Board. The group generated pricing for each of their products to be presented to the homestay owners for approval.
2. Fee for CBT Management Board: In order for the CBT Management Board to be sustainable, we are concerned that the work is being done on a volunteer basis. The group agreed on a percentage for each product offering that would be allocated to the Board in order to ensure ongoing operations and to contribute to community projects. This percentage will be presented to the homestay owners for approval.
3. Charity donations: In the past, the community had a box for receiving charitable donations from tourists for making improvements in the village, but it was not well managed. However, it generated quite a bit of revenue when it was in use. The Board would like to initiate a process for charitable donations.
4. Quality control: In this type of situation, it is important to have a strong degree of quality control. If a tour operator has a poor experience in one homestay, it negatively impacts every other homestay in the village. The Board discussed how they would manage complaints and also considered the creation of an exit survey to gain a better understanding of tourists’ experience in the village.
5. Regulations for tourists: In order to ensure a quality experience, a set of regulations was drafted for the process off tourists coming to Ta Phin. The possibility of creating a leaflet to share this information was discussed.

Building relationships in Lao Chai

Building relationships every way we can! Trung (from HOU) helping out.

Lao Chai is a small village of approximately 3,000 people about 7km southwest of Sapa. It is primarily populated by the Black H’mong ethnic group. As we posted in October, our project is just beginning the community-based tourism process in Lao Chai. If we were to compare Lao Chai to Ta Phin as a tourism destination, it is in a similar state to Ta Phin a decade ago when we began working there. At this point, one of our greatest priorities in the community is to understand the needs of the community and build relationships with the residents so that we can effectively assist the community in reaching their goals around tourism.

Two students, Rachael (Capilano University) and Trung (Hanoi Open University), were the first of the team in Lao Chai. While the rest of the team has been working with the CBT Management Board and homestay owners in Ta Phin, Rachael and Trung have been in Lao Chai making connections.

Meeting with the principal and another administrator of Lao Chai Secondary School

Their first day in Lao Chai was a busy one! They met with the local authority, visited some of the local schools to make arrangements to work with the children later in the week, arranged a food safety/cooking workshop for the following day, and made new friends.

At the secondary school for lunch

Lunch at the school

Reconnecting with the CBT team in Ta Phin

Mr. Xa, Chairman of Ta Phin and their CBT Management Board

On Sunday, February 23 we are hosting a workshop between the homestay owners and members of the Community-Based Tourism Management Board in Ta Phin and a number of tour operators from Hanoi and Sapa town. They are working towards developing a relationship in which the tour operators can book directly with the CBT Management Board, trying to increase the economic benefits the community retains from homestay guests.

On Tuesday afternoon, we arrived in Ta Phin and immediately met with six members of the Ta Phin CBT Management Board, as well as a few homestay owners and other residents. It is a difficult week to set up meetings and training, as all of Ta Phin is mobilized to get organized for the large festival that is scheduled for Saturday so we are taking any and all opportunities that come our way.

At this meeting, we discussed Sunday’s workshop to ensure that everyone is able to attend, and began to discuss what issues need resolution before the meeting. We decided to set up a meeting for Wednesday evening, after everyone’s workday was complete. Our agenda was lofty and we were hoping to work through five issues in preparation for our meeting on Sunday. We were hoping to set package prices that all homestay owners would agree to, so that they can present a united front to the tour operators on Sunday.

Initial CBT Management Board meeting in Ta Phin

Let the preparations begin

To get ready for our time in the villages we have had lots of preparation to do, both in Hanoi and in Sapa. We were joined by Trung, one of the student volunteers from Hanoi Open University (HOU), to assist us with our errands in Hanoi and smooth the language barrier. Trung and Rachael purchased supplies, and got CBT business cards printed at a local print shop. 



We got our business cards printed. Can you find Kyle Sandilands card?

We met Ms. Ngoc Anh, the project lead at HOU, to refine our itinerary and finalize our plans. We also took some time to deliver invitations to a number of tour operators for the private sector workshop that the CBT team is facilitating next weekend. 

Ms. Ngoc Anh, Jen and Nic discussing logistics

We arrived in Sapa early this morning and we're off to a great start. We went for lunch with Peter Gilbert, from Sapa O'Chau, to discuss the private sector workshop. Sapa O'Chau will be hosting the workshop next weekend in their new facility. We are currently in the process of connecting with local tour operators to follow up with them about the private sector workshop.

On the training side of things, we have been out in the community connecting with people from Ta Phin and Lao Chai to let them know we are here and that we will be delivering training and working with people in the villages this week.

 

Jen connecting with women from Lao Chai

The HOU team, Ms. Ngoc Anh, Ms. Huyen and Trang, will be taking the night train to Sapa tonight to join forces with us. From there we will be making the game plan for the next week.

Good morning Vietnam!

 

Day 1 was packed full of adventure!



The CBT team was up bright and early to brave the rain and head to the Tamarind Café for breakfast. We were going to be in Hanoi for the next three days so we had to make a game plan. 

CBT Team spent their first night at the New Hanoi Hotel




Jen, Rachael and Nic enjoying fresh passion fruit juice at the Tamarind Cafe

After breakfast the team headed back to the hotel, packed up, and made their way to The Little Hanoi Hostel. While we were waiting to check in, we took advantage of the free tea, coffee and WiFi in the lobby! We stayed in the lobby and got right to work.

Nic working hard on getting the team organized

Then we hit the streets to find some lunch, run a few errands and exchange some money. The Old Quarter is a bustling neighbourhood with motorbikes whizzing everywhere and amazing Vietnamese street food at every corner.

Stopped for lunch to enjoy some eel soup at a popular spot.

Getting CBT Vietnam business cards printed


Our errands took us to Hoan Kiem Lake and we saw the most amazing Tet decorations. Tet is the Vietnamese New Year and is just finishing up.



Happy New year or, as they say in Vietnam, chúc mừng năm mới everyone!



CBT Team arrives in Vietnam

After an adventurous 24 hours of traveling, the CBT Vietnam team made it to Vietnam!

Here's a recap of our travels.



Nic and Rachael showing off their new treasures from their complimentary China Southern Airlines travel kit

After some reading, lots of chatting, a few naps and some card playing, Jen was extremely excited to get noodles mid way through the flight.



Jen with her noodles!

On the plane we realized a couple glitches for our Vietnam itinerary. During our short layover in China, we scurried to make a few last minute changes. What we discovered is that you are unable to make international phone calls from within the secure area of the airport.

Without being able to use Wi-Fi without a Chinese SIM card, we definitely made some friends at the airport (and got some funny looks). Eventually we were able to get a wireless password from a VIP lounge with the help of a lovely Australian woman who spoke English and Mandarin.

Then Skype and Chris Carnovale saved the day...

Once we landed in Vietnam we had an adventurous cab ride to our hostel and an hour later we arrived at the Old Quarter. When we stepped out of the cab our senses were overwhelmed by the life of the city. The noise of all the people hanging out and eating street food, the new smells, the motor bikes zipping by...we had arrived.

By 3am it was time for some shut eye. Tomorrow is a new day and there's lots of work to be done to prepare for our journey to Sa Pa.

Correspondence from another Continent

I just love how this project connects people from all over the world! 

A few weeks ago I made a new Facebook friend named Ashley (Thuy Anh Pham). Not only does she live in Hanoi and is interested in volunteering with the CBT Vietnam project but she is a student at Vietnam National University Hanoi majoring in English. Although we have never met, we are both very excited about our new friendship and all the great things the PATA funded CBT Vietnam project is doing. 

We plan to meet each other for the first time this August, when I travel to Vietnam as one of the Capilano University student volunteers continuing the ongoing work of the CBT project. Ashley is excited to help me learn about her culture and recently told me about the Tet holiday which marks the Lunar New Year that they are celebrating right now! This festival is about purity and renewal and the celebrations can be compared to our Western Thanksgiving, New Year's Day and Easter all in one Vietnamese New Year.

This new friendship has really got me thinking about how social media connects people from all over the world. I am really looking forward to learning more about the Vietnamese culture from Ashley.