Homestay opens up a way to get rich in Huu Lien

From traditional stilt houses, Huu Lien people have opened a way to get rich sustainably with homestay tourism.

Touch the rhythm of village life

Early winter morning, the sun spreads down Huu Lien valley. At Yen Nhi Homestay, the bowl of local chicken porridge just ladled out in the small kitchen is still steaming. A group of tourists returning from the mountain climbing, sitting on the wooden porch, holding a cup of hot tea, breathing out a thin breath in the early morning chill.

Nguyen Tien Dat, a tourist from Thai Nguyen, said while sipping tea: “Everything here is still original. We want to live true to the village life, not the concrete tourism style.”

The sun slanted through the pillars of the stilt house. Smoke from the kitchen at the end of the yard still wafted thinly into the early morning air. Children ran around the yard, chattering like a part of the scenery. Huu Lien preserved a rare rusticity that the city could not have. And from these seemingly small things, Huu Lien people found a new way to get rich.

Tourists enjoy their experience at Yen Nhi homestay. Photo: Hoang Chinh.

From farming household to homestay owner

Mr. Hoang Van Chinh, owner of Yen Nhi Homestay, calmly said that in the past, his family only relied on a few fields of rice, so their income was unstable. In 2019, seeing the influx of customers who wanted to experience the core of Huu Lien nature, he tried homestay services.

He started by renovating the stilt house, keeping the traditional structure but investing in additional items such as the roof, bedrooms, bathrooms, toilets, and renovating the landscape around the house... Currently, Yen Nhi homestay has 4 rooms (each room has 4-6 guests) and a communal room with a capacity of nearly 20 guests. The average monthly income is about 60 million VND.

It is no coincidence that community tourism in Huu Lien has emerged. In 2020, when the community tourism village was recognized, Huu Lien was still an old commune. Now, after merging with Yen Thinh to form the new Huu Lien commune, the homestay service platform still retains its core cultural traditions, which makes many tourists excited.

“We paid to stay like this because we wanted to see the real village of the people here. The more real, the more traditional, the more worth the money,” said Ms. Pham Phuong Thuy (Hanoi) - who just experienced two nights at Yen Nhi homestay.

Benefits spread to the whole community

Mr. Hoang Thanh Hieu - Head of the Cultural Department of Huu Lien Commune said that the old Huu Lien used to have 24 establishments, after merging with Yen Thinh, the whole commune now has 36 homestays. Among them, there are many establishments with an income of 50 - 60 million VND/month such as: Gia Bao, Son Thuy, Rung Xanh, Moc Ban, Binh Minh... Revenue from homestay in 2024 reached 15 billion VND; in the first 9 months of this year, it reached more than 13 billion with 38 thousand visitors coming to visit and experience.

From the stilt house, Mr. Chinh invested and upgraded it into a homestay to attract tourists to experience. Photo: Hoang Chinh.

From a purely farming household, Yen Nhi has become one of the main sources of employment in the village. During peak season, this facility hires 5-6 local workers to clean rooms, cook, and guide guests around the village, creating a source of income, helping many disadvantaged households improve their income and stabilize their lives.

In Huu Lien, poverty reduction is not about “giving” but “creating opportunities”. People sell local chickens, clean vegetables, and honey; young people work as trekking guides; women sew brocade and sell souvenirs. Even households that do not open homestays can still participate in the common value chain.

Sustainable poverty reduction from indigenous resources

According to Mr. Hieu, the commune plans to develop 4-5 new homestay facilities each year, with priority given to households that already have traditional stilt houses. However, Huu Lien will not chase after quantity. The commune will proactively encourage households to go to Son La, Lao Cai , Tuyen Quang... to learn about service organization, how to serve, and how to preserve identity while still being clean and civilized.

“No one is born knowing how to do tourism. But to do it, first of all, we must preserve the soul. Here, we still keep the wood stove, bamboo rice, black sticky rice cake, local hill chicken, duck steamed with mac mat leaves and some unique dishes. Guests eat on trays, sit on mats, drink tea on wooden benches. That is both the product and the value,” said Mr. Chinh.

Huu Lien Commune will continue to develop homestays from existing traditional stilt houses. Photo: Hoang Nghia.

The road to wealth from homestay in Huu Lien is less than a decade old, but the first steps show a sustainable poverty reduction direction from internal resources. Not everyone does homestay, but homestay creates service demand, creates jobs, and raises the living standards of the community from within.

Poverty reduction sometimes does not require a very complicated strategy, but only requires knowing how to preserve and promote the true value of your home and knowing how to welcome the world to see how you live.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/homestay-mo-huong-lam-giau-o-huu-lien-d783516.html