The people of Phong Nam islet are starting to develop community tourism.

Phong Nam Island Commune is a fertile islet with simple, honest people and orchards laden with delicious and healthy fruits such as plums, durians, rambutan, star apples, purple longan, mangosteen, etc. Viewed from above, Phong Nam islet resembles a large ship, its bow pointing towards Can Tho, located about 20km from the center of Can Tho City along the Southern Hau River route (National Highway 91B). With its advantageous geographical location, favorable natural conditions, and convenient transportation, Phong Nam islet has inspired the local people to develop community tourism and officially opened its doors to visitors on June 13th.

Phong Nam Island welcomed visitors on June 14th.

Leveraging the identity of the community

In community-based tourism, ensuring guests are welcomed with pleasure upon arrival and satisfied upon departure is paramount. Therefore, the women on the islet enthusiastically discuss and offer suggestions: choosing signature dishes to try, proposing new dishes using local produce, weaving coconut leaf hats as gifts for guests, and more.

Ms. Ngo Thi Nhan, President of the Women's Union of Phong Nam commune, who spearheaded and connected the women in the food service group, shared: "Many of the women participating in the group have years of experience in women's union work, but when they accepted the invitation to participate in the community tourism pilot program, they were still nervous."

The women on Phong Nam islet prepare delicious dishes to treat tourists visiting their homes.

Like Ms. Hang, who is in charge of the food service area, even though her cooking skills are acknowledged by the other staff and she has tried cooking the dishes many times before, on June 13th, she still couldn't sleep the night before welcoming the first group of guests due to nervousness. By the time she welcomed the second group of guests on June 14th, she smiled with relief because the guests praised the food as delicious.

The delicious dishes the ladies served their guests that day were all "homegrown" produce: fried anchovies with garlic fish sauce, braised pork with duck eggs cooked over a wood fire, fish and shrimp cakes cooked with An Phuoc plums, snail and banana blossom salad, and boiled wild greens. Overjoyed, Ms. Hang excitedly boasted that there was still food in the kitchen, offering to bring more or pack some for everyone to take home. Hosts and guests alike laughed, jokingly saying, "This doesn't feel like a vacation, it's more like attending a memorial feast on the islet."

Visitors experience and enjoy traditional Vietnamese cakes at Ms. Thuy's house.

Ms. Thuy, the owner of a traditional Vietnamese cake-making experience, has many years of experience making and selling cakes to support her children's education, and they have now found stable jobs. She is happy to join the food service group because she gets to make several of her favorite cakes. Ms. Thuy said: "I don't think about whether I make a lot or a little profit; I'm happy when customers praise the cakes, and I immediately call my children to tell them about it when they leave."

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Visitors can tour and enjoy durian at Tu Suol durian orchard.

Upon visiting Tư Suôl's durian orchard, visitors are amazed by the meticulously maintained garden, with its trees laden with fruit. Even better, the owner enthusiastically selects perfectly ripe, high-quality Ri6 and creamy durians for guests to enjoy.

Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, a specialist at the Phong Nam Commune General Service Center, is soliciting feedback from visitors regarding the quality of services at the destination.

Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, a specialist at the Phong Nam Commune General Service Center and the main organizer of the tour, said: "Currently, the commune has only designed a basic tour: 8:00 AM, guests are picked up at Phong Thanh ferry terminal, and take souvenir photos at the welcome gate; from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM, guests visit Uncle Tu Suol's durian orchard, Uncle Hai Than's rambutan orchard, and enjoy fresh fruit; they experience making and tasting traditional cakes at Ms. Thuy's house and have lunch at Ms. Hang's house. In the afternoon, guests go to the Song Que tourist spot, visit the century-old mangosteen orchard, enjoy tea at the lakeside pavilion, and socialize with the owner of the tourist spot. Afterwards, the group moves onto a tourist boat, tours the river, and admires the nearby islets. While the boat is moving, tourists enjoy fruit, hot tea, and sing and interact with the local artists. At 4:30 PM, the boat takes guests back to Phong Thanh ferry terminal for their return."

Young tourists experience picking rambutan at Uncle Hai Thận's rambutan orchard.

Aiming for long-term development

Ms. Huynh Phuong Kieu, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Phong Nam commune, shared that after stabilizing the operational structure according to the two-tiered local government model, the commune leaders researched and proposed solutions to exploit the local strengths to improve the lives of the people. The idea of ​​developing community tourism received strong support. This model suits the existing strengths of the locality, helps solve the problem of fruit output, and increases income for people through value-added services. From there, it contributes to achieving the goal of building a modern rural area and honoring community values.

The purple longan is a specialty of Phong Nam islet.

The entire Phong Nam commune has over 665 hectares of fruit orchards, including key crops such as longan, rambutan, purple star apple, mango, mangosteen, An Phuoc plum, durian, etc., with harvests spread throughout the year. Particularly in April and May of the lunar calendar, Phong Nam islet transforms with many orchards in full bloom, bearing ripe fruit such as rambutan, An Phuoc plum, mangosteen, and durian… Especially noteworthy are the orchards of the specialty purple longan.

As a safe zone commune, Phong Nam also attracts tourists with its tradition of indomitable and resilient struggle during the two wars of resistance against French colonialism and American imperialism. And today, it boasts the beauty of prosperous rural life, with simple houses and straight concrete roads connecting to the commune center and to each residential area.

Ms. Huynh Phuong Kieu shared that currently, the groups participating in community tourism are operating a pilot program. Once the program is stable and meets requirements, the commune will proceed to establish the Phong Nam Commune Community Tourism Cooperative. The goal is to mobilize cooperative members and the entire community to participate in maintaining security, order, and environmental hygiene, especially at tourist areas and attractions; to raise awareness among the local community, focusing on cultural communication and behavior towards tourists; to develop more systematic and diverse tours; and to develop tourism products that offer new experiences suitable to the existing conditions, such as rowing boats in small canals, a day as a farmer, enjoying traditional folk music, and experiencing dining on boats while watching the sunrise/sunset…

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Tourists enjoy a boat tour to admire the river and the surrounding islets of Phong Nam islet on their way back to Phong Thanh ferry terminal. Photo: Contributor.

The Chairman of the People's Committee of Phong Nam Commune emphasized that, in the long-term development orientation, the commune will build a set of standard criteria in the process of welcoming and transporting guests, room hygiene, food safety, and service style to ensure tourists have the best experience at the destination. The goal is to build the image of each member as a tourism ambassador of the commune. At the same time, the cooperative will build its brand, promote the application of information technology in promotion such as creating channels to promote Phong Nam islet community tourism on Facebook, TikTok, Zalo… to easily reach tourists. Furthermore, emphasis will be placed on coordinating rotation among members to ensure fairness and suitability with service capacity, ensuring quality; and focusing on training and developing the capacity of the cooperative's members.

Located in the middle of the Hau River, within the administrative boundaries of Can Tho City, Phong Nam commune has a unique geographical location with rivers and waterways surrounding it on all sides. To the north, it borders Luc Si Thanh commune (Vinh Long province), to the east, An Phu Tan commune (Vinh Long province), to the west, An Lac Thon commune, and to the south, Thoi An Hoi commune (Can Tho City).

Phong Nam is one of the 103 communes and wards of Can Tho City, recognized as an island commune and one of the 30 safe zone communes and wards. The commune has a natural area of ​​17.30 km²; a population of 6,419 people, with an average population density of 371 people/km²; its administrative area comprises 4 hamlets: Phong Hoa, Phong Phu, Phong Thoi, and Phong Thanh.

UYEN KHANH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/nguoi-dan-con-phong-nam-tap-lam-du-lich-cong-dong-a207228.html