Marketing the Market

Imagine walking through a market in another country. As a tourist, we tend to just browse through the selection and ignore the people trying to sell to us, afraid that if we talk to them we'll have to buy something. Usually the most important task will be trying to get a product for the cheapest price.

Reviewing ideas for merchandising

This last month I, along with Sabrina, were blessed to work in TaPhinwith the Red Dao women. This formalized market was recently completed and we were given the opportunity to discover new ways to bring the market alive to attract more tourists. Our work began before we arrived as we took photos of local Vancouver markets to illustrate various ways of merchandising and cooperating.  We had so many ideas running through our heads and wanted to be sure that tourists could feel comfortable in browsing the market AND talking with the locals.

We spent six days meeting and working with the market sellers in both group and one-on-one sessions. I felt that we only scratched the surface of the Red Dao culture and development of a successful market.

Sabrina dressed in traditional Red Dao garments

During our discussion of culture, we generated ideas for improved tourist experiences. We helped the women display their booths in appealing ways, such as creating bamboo hangers in order to display the handicrafts and clothing. For product diversification, we helped each woman see the benefits of placing their differentiating products at the front of their booth, instead of featuring the same products as their neighbour. We expect to see in the near future, as high season approaches, booths filled with teas, fruit and vegetables, and herbal bath products. 

Discussing ideas

Through our discussions, the women began to think of new ways to manage street selling and the hassling of tourists. The most difficult task moving forward is keeping the market full. Many of the women cannot come to sell every day due to other responsibilities in the fields. Also, there are many women who prefer to sell on the streets because this is the way it has always been done. We hope that our efforts and cooperation with the Red Dao women and local government will create a more sustainable and beneficial tourism product for the people of TaPhin. 

The relationships we developed, in such a short time, have impacted our lives in numerous ways. I have already made a promise to myself that I will come back someday. The women have told us that the time we spend to get to know them is very special, as many of the tourists treat them as if they do not exist. 

With Ta May

One of the relationships I created on this trip was with Ta May. I will be working closely with her over the next month because she has taken on a huge responsibility. Ta May told us as we were leaving that she wants to be in charge of the market. She will work each day with the Red Dao women to keep the ideas flowing, in hopes that one day they will be able to stop street selling and have a thriving market. 

The development of a relationship is a two way street. If these women are taking the time to learn how to interact with tourists in a polite and enjoyable way, it is important for tourists to take the time to sit down and talk. If tourists take the time to get to know locals during their travels, they will have a more memorable experience.

I thank Capilano University, the PATA Foundation and our partner in Vietnam Hanoi Open University for the most amazing experience and opportunities.

TaPhin: Where Life Goes by Different Rules

There is a road in SaPa that goes all the way from the mountain down to the valley. I once called it the stairway to heaven. If SaPa is the stairway to heaven, TaPhin is heaven itself! 

We left SaPa on Monday morning and arrived in TaPhin village before noon. The car dropped us off near the entrance of the village in an area known as Doi Mot, or the Commune One. We walked down the valley, crossed a river and trekked up the mountain for about 30 minutes to get to where four home-stay owners run their businesses. The scenery was breathtaking. 

We spent the whole afternoon meeting the owners, touring the homes, asking them about the challenges they are facing, inspecting the capacity and potential development of the homes, and talking to them about promotional and marketing strategies. 

We split up into three groups in the evening to stay in different homestays in Doi Mot, in order to experience what tourists experience when they stay in those homes overnight. I stayed at Ms. Ly May Lai’s house and got to meet her family and extended family who were visiting from China. I offered to help prepare the dinner and May Lai showed me how to clean the pumpkin leaves before she cooked them.

Fresh and local aren't just trends here!

The process of preparing meat is very different from what we are used to in Vancouver. Even in scratch kitchens in North America, things are not as ‘from the scratch’ as are in the village! I didn’t expect the pork and chicken to come out of beautifully sealed packages, but I was still surprised when they just grabbed them from outside, killed them in the kitchen, clean and cut them, and then cook them right away! When I told my host that my family eats rice, I was asked if we have a rice field!

Preparing dinner

Getting ready for dinner

We spent the whole evening cooking on one stove at the corner of the house. There are usually two stoves in each house in TaPhin: one for cooking and one for preparing the herbal bath. May Lai was sitting by the stove the whole time and cooking the dishes one after the other. When one dish was done, it was put into a plate and sent to the table, but no one started dinner until all the dishes were done and placed on the table. The process of preparing ten different dish on one stove and in one pot took about an hour. The whole family then gathered around the dinner table and rice and alcohol were served.

Herbal baths

Even though I was planning to have a herbal bath, I was too tired to stay up late that night. May Lai’s house has two guestrooms. Since I was the only guest that night I got the whole room to myself. The room had 7 beds in a row with red/pink flower patterned blankets. A blue mosquito net was hung on top of each bed, and there was another door at the other side of the room which opened to the washroom and herbal bath areas. I called it my own en-suite shower room. 

Bamboo bug!

Roosters woke me up at 4:30. This was not my first time away from home opening my eyes in an unfamiliar environment, but it sure was the most authentic one. Outside the glassless window chicks and piglets were playing; the sound of a woman singing in the distance had added a mysterious feeling to the foggy view of the valley; and the smell of the burned bamboos in the fireplace was like no other worldly smell. Even the big bamboo bug that May Lai’s father had found outside and brought in didn’t look scary anymore! The time had slowed down letting me grasp and take in this new experience. That morning as I walked down the valley and crossed the river through the fog, I knew I was a different person; I had seen the heaven. 

Ms. May Lai and Hedieh

(Written by Hedieh Ahmari, student volunteer)

Sapa, tuổi trẻ và những chuyến đi - From Sapa with love

Tôi đang ngồi đây, giữa lòng rừng núi và viết những dòng này, giữa cái nắng sớm của đỉnh đồi Sapa, giữa những cơn gió mát đầu hè nơi miền cao của tổ quốc, bên những người bạn đã quen, mới quen và những con người Sapa yêu dấu…

Tôi nghĩ nhiều đến từ “last time”… một trong những từ khiến chúng ta phải buồn, phải suy nghĩ nhiều nhất, từ mà có lắm lúc ta “không muốn nghe nhất” trong cuộc đời.. thời gian dài đã trôi qua, và giờ đây, dự án đã đi vào giai đoạn kêt thúc, giai đoạn “last time”.. giai đoạn mà chỉ một thời gian ngắn nữa thôi, chúng ta sẽ nói lời tạm biệt. Chia tay, dẫu thế nào đi nữa, cũng sẽ là rất buồn…

Rời xa chốn thị thành rực rỡ đúc đông, chúng tôi được đắm mình trong một “thế giới Sapa” thật khác.. 

Nếu hỏi chúng tôi rằng, điều gì khiến chúng tôi nhớ nhất về nơi đây, hẳn là một câu hỏi quá khó để trả lời. Mỗi bước chân chúng tôi đi qua, mỗi con người mà chúng tôi gặp gỡ, mỗi bữa cơm bên bếp lửa hồng, những câu chuyện dài bất tận trong lúc lội suối, trèo đèo nơi đây.. có quá nhiều khoảnh khắc mà tôi tin chắc rằng, mai này, dẫu cuộc sống có bộn bề bon chen tới đâu..tôi, và những người bạn của tôi, cũng chẳng thể nào quên được… Khoảng thời gian ấy, được sống, được làm việc, học, ở, ăn với những con người nơi đây, thật vui và đáng yêu, đáng quý đến vô cùng…

Bởi biết rằng cuộc đời là những chuyến đi.. và những điều đã qua, sẽ chỉ còn là kỷ niệm, cho nên cũng chẳng ước chi lắm nhiều, chỉ mong mỗi nơi mà chúng ta – tôi, và bạn đã đi qua, xin cuộc đời hãy giúp ta giữ lưu những kỷ niệm yêu dấu cho đến mãi sau này…

Life in Lao Chai

Two days in and life is good for the CBT team in Lao Chai. Or TLC as we like to refer ourselves as (#dontgochasingwaterfalls). Ms. Mai has been a gracious host for the team, cooking us fantastic meals, putting up with all of our belongings spread around the house, and serving us culturally acceptable glasses of rice wine. 

Yesterday I ran a workshop with the homestay operators that discussed the village map that Taryn (CapU Tourism alumni) and the locals created on the previous trip. This created a great conversation between the homestay owners and the potential it would have for tour operators, hotels, tour guides and other villages. Everyone got involved including some of the men, who had previously been more reserved within the   group. 

                  

                           
 

Even Ms. Dee from the homestay up in the hills, came down to engage in the community discussion. 

Many of the homestay people are concerned the tourists will not come and until then do not know if they should complete their homes. But the conversation had to bring back the focus on the need to build the homestays and the owners' capacity to be ready for when the tourists do arrive. And in the end, we all agreed that with a little hard work the tourist will come. 

One of the key moments of this workshop was educating the operators on basic English so they can host guests. The Hmong people are incredible learners when it comes to languages and were picking it up right away. Tonight we are meeting again at 7:00 PM to run a second language class to build their English vocabulary - some of them are planning to learn how to write. 

Overall it was a great day, everyone is killing it and having a stellar time! 

Good night from Lao Chai, and good morning to Vancouver. 

The Journey of a Lifetime Continues!

 After 3 days in the busy capital of Hanoi, the CBT Vietnam team has finally arrived in SaPa!

With all of our supplies, luggage, and filming equipment, we hopped on an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. We all forgot about the rough 10 hour ride once we woke up with breathtaking views, cool weather, and refreshing smell of the mountainous area of Northern Vietnam.  What a change from the humidity of overcrowded Hanoi!

Once we arrived in the town, we checked into the beautiful SaPa Eden Hotel. While we waited for our rooms to be ready, the team headed to the rooftop restaurant for breakfast. It also gave us the chance to finally snap our own photos of this magical landscape!

For the next 10 days, the team will be staying in TaPhin and Lao Chai working on different projects, including homestay training, product development, and environmental training for kids.

We are all very eager to connect with the community and deliver the training we have been working on these past few months. Everyone is excited to stay in the homestays and build lifetime memories with the locals.

Did you know the project now has Instagram? Follow us at http://instagram.com/cbtvietnam!

Stay tuned with the CBT Vietnam blog and social media channels for more details on our work in the villages!

Letters en route to Lao Chai!

I am honoured to announce that I am currently the mail carrier of 26 amazing letters written by a grade 4 class at Nelson Elementary School!

A couple weeks ago, the CBT Vietnam team came up with the idea to develop a pen pal relationship between an elementary school class in Vancouver and Lao Chai Elementary School.

So I got in contact with one of my elementary school teachers, Mrs. Chan, and pitched the idea to her. She loved it!

On Friday, I went into her class to visit and talk about the Vietnam trip. When I entered all the students knew me by name and eager to get started. For the letters, we asked them to introduce themselves and draw a picture of their favourite activity to do outside. All the students were so nervous about writing their letters. I kept getting questions like “How does this look?” or “Do they know this sport?” Many of them even did the letters twice just to make sure it was perfect!

Check out some of their letters! It seems like soccer is the class favourite.

First Days in Hanoi

Talk about a whirlwind first few days! 

From our smiling faces, you would think that we are having the time of life, taking in the sights, sounds and experiences of life in Hanoi…. and you would be right! 

Everyone is adjusting well and we've been maximizing our time in the city with numerous activities, meetings, and meals. Our first day was filled with sightseeing, as we cruised around Hoan Kiem lake and enjoyed a delicious meal of bun bo (noodles with beef, herbs and salad). With many photo opportunities along the way, we made sure to make our mark on this chaotic and energetic city. 

At the end of the first night, the team met up with our HOU counterparts, Ms. Que, Ms. Ly, and past student volunteer Trung, for an amazing meal at the Sen Tay Ho buffet. We were also fortunate to have a member of Vietnam's Ministry of Tourism join us for a toast. As some of the newer team members realized, Capilano University's Cross Cultural Tourism class definitely is important to our understanding of these meetings!

Tomorrow we're off to Sapa and we're spending the day gathering supplies, wrapping up some prep work and getting ready for the night train. We'll be checking in regularly over the next few weeks so please make sure to follow us along on this blog and our various social media channels.

We now have Instagram, the highly addictive photo sharing site! 

As you can see from our feed, we LOVE sharing almost every moment of our adventure :)

Follow us at http://instagram.com/cbtvietnam!