Fresco village in Hai Son hamlet attractive to visitors

10/1/2017 - 9:52:41 PM

(HBO) – A 800-metre road section of 15 households in Hai Son hamlet, Mai Hich commune (Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province) was previously full of moss and weeds. With the helping hands of 27 voluntary students from the Hanoi University of Fine Arts, the village has been covered with colourful paintings featuring the unique culture of the Thai ethnic minority group.

Thanks to a project of the Centre for Community Health and Development (COHED), Mai Hich commune (Mai Chau district) now has a new name as "Hai Son community-based tourism fresco village”

The activity was inspired by the Centre for Community Health and Development (COHED) as part of a project designed to develop rural areas via environmentally friendly community-based tourism sponsored by the Bread for the World (BFW) with the target of improving living conditions of ethnic people in Vietnam. Through which, community-based tourism initiatives have generated incomes for ethnic people in Mai Chau district. The paintings were created by voluntary students and COHED staff along with residents in Hai Son hamlet. After eight days of working hard, they changed the grey walls into lively paintings.

Not only painting on the wall, vegetable fences were also decorated. Children in the hamlet were encouraged to join the activity with the assistance from voluntary students. Children were enthusiastic to create lovely pictures highlighting the beauty of their countryside.

Nowadays, when arriving in Hai Son hamlet, visitors could put their souls into the nature of the Mai Chau mountainous region which is poetic through pictures capturing four seasons of the year as well as the daily life of people such as rice sowing, cultivating and pounding, along with gong culture, drinking "ruou can” (literally "stem wine" or "tube wine”), and enjoying "mua sap” (dance of the bamboo) performances.

Hai Son is a poor hamlet in Mai Hich commune, mainly cultivating rice and vegetables. Locals enjoy a peaceful life but still face many difficulties. Endowed with natural advantages, locals hope to introduce the natural beauty of their land to visitors to develop community-based tourism and increase their incomes.

Head of Hai Son hamlet Dam Quang Thuong said the COHED project has empowered local residents to develop community-based tourism. At present, the hamlet is opening a training course for people to provide homestay services, focusing on keeping the clean environment. Tourists could experience local daily activities such as growing rice, weaving brocade and cooking local special dishes.

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