ABOUT US
WHO ARE WE?
We - the Taphiners, the indigenous people, with the desire to preserve the traditional beauty of our homeland and introduce it to a wide range of discovery enthusiasts, especially young people who love travelling. Ta Phin Community-based Tourism Cooperative was founded in September 2019 with the participation of more than 50 households.
TAPHIN COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM COOPERATIVE
The community-based tourism cooperative is a tourism model based on internal community resources. Accordingly, individuals and households in Ta Phin voluntarily cooperate and support each other in providing tourism activities and services including sharing meals, staying and living with indigenous families.
_Mrs. Ly Ta May_
Directeur
"Cooperatives are like common houses that connect members to help solve difficulties in producing and trading. Furthermore, with the cooperative model, people in Ta Phin wish to promote the traditional culture of the Dao-Mong people.
Ta Phin Cooperative is the result of a difficult process. This is one of the cooperative members that have to contribute capital. Initially, people were a little bit hesitant, but after a period of advocacy, everyone was willing to participate. So far, there have been about 50 households that have agreed to participate.
At the 1st stage, the Board of Directors did not perform well since that was their 1st time to manage a cooperative. Therefore, to make the model as stable as today, they have had to make lots of attempts. I hope the model will succeed, bringing good values to Ta Phin".
VISION
We - indigenous people - aspire to transmit the traditional cultural identity of the ethnic group and develop sustainable livelihoods based on the internal community resources.
MISSION
We provide tourism services with authentic indigenous cultural values along with connecting and promoting internal community resources to promote economics associated with nature conservation.
OUR CORE VALUES
Collaboration
We work together to unite and converge the strength of the community to promote the local economy and develop sustainable livelihoods.
Cultural preservation
Through cultural tourism activities, we preserve and promote the unique characteristics of our ethnic cultures, restore traditional cultural activities of the Red Dao and the Black Mong people that are in danger of disappearing.
Respect for nature
With a tradition of living on nature, we choose to provide services that are harmonious and respectful of nature, reducing negative impacts on the environment, maintaining ecological balance.
_Mrs. Ly May Pham_
Vice-director
"For me, Ta Phin has many strengths: landscape, indigenous cultural products, especially herbal baths and many other things.
I really hope that the cooperative will help people enhance their income, promote sustainable development and improve the economy. In addition, I wish this cooperative would leave some impressions to everyone as well (laughs). Therefore, everything must be done properly, to welcome an open future.
I hope that the members of the cooperative will unite and together move forwards with their own hands."
What services does Ta Phin cooperative provide?
Taphin's homestay
In general, homestay service in Ta Phin is very appreciated with its position in the midst of the Northwest mountains and provision of amenities for guests from meals to herbal baths. Rustic wooden houses with long-standing traditional architecture will make your experience even more wonderful when living in the authentic indigenous cultural space of ethnic minorities here.
Taphin's tour guide
They are those who accompany tourists very closely and inspire tourists along their trips, the guides are fully equipped with proper health, spirit and knowledge for the trips. Each guide is equipped with diverse knowledge about culture, tradition. Moreover, they are also required to take training courses of English and French competency along with tour guide service in Ta Phin to ensure tourists a profound and complete travelling experience.
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Taphin's herbal baths
The Red Dao herbal bath has been a unique esoteric remedy for hundreds of years making an experience no one can ignore when visiting Ta Phin. With hundreds of remedies with different uses, just one Red Dao Herbal can amaze you with its effects. The bath is suitable for those who want to relax, those who have just overcome fever as it helps restore health, restore the feeling of pleasure, relaxation, and soothe away all numb limbs after long-distance travel.
With the Red Dao herbal bath, visitors feel not only the effect of the herbal remedies but also the Northwestern nature, the culture, tradition and wisdom of the Red Dao people.
Taphin's brocade
Brocade products in Ta Phin community-based tourism cooperative are diverse with brocade of the Black Mong people and the Red Dao people. Not only presenting traditional culture, brocade is also one of the unique products here. Each fiber, pattern, and needle line shows dedication, meticulousness, and presents traditional cultures of the Red Dao people and Black Mong people which is still preserved and inherited from generations to generations.
In particular, visitors can directly experience the stages of making a brocade product: from harvesting linen to weaving linen and embroidery,...
Motorbike rental service
Ta Phin Tourist Cooperative offers two types of options for motorbike rental: with driver or without driver. With the service of a guiding driver, you will be led by the natives to the beautiful places in the village and Sapa quickly, professionally, without having to bother searching for maps. In addition, you also hear thrilling stories only indigenous people know about the places that you visit. Guests can also choose to be picked up at the train station to return to Ta Phin if they book in advance.
Indigenous culture
CAP SAC CEREMONY
“Cap Sac” ceremony is one of the most important rituals of the Red Dao that takes place at the end of the year or in January. This is a ritual held to recognize a person’s maturity.
“Cap sac” ceremony has many steps: 3 lights, 7 lights, 12 lights (depending on the domestic hierarchy). The ceremony usually takes place in 3 days with many unique cultural activities, which have great educational significance of spreading the teachings towards doing good deeds and not doing bad things; help people properly understand themselves, guide them how to live with dignity, morality, and responsibility towards their family and society. The content of the ritual is educational in accordance with the people’s will of learning morality.
In Red Dao culture, the “Boi Trang” ceremony or “Lunar fortune-telling” ceremony usually takes place on July 14 of the lunar calendar in order to call Uncle Cuoi from the Moon to earth and answer questions of the people. Legend has it that the more people participating the ceremony, the less sacred it becomes, therefore, many people try to organize the ceremony themselves (with only 1-3 people) so that the answers will be more accurate. The ceremony is like a narration under the moonlight so sometimes it may bring fear to people with whom it is unfamiliar. In addition, all participants were supposed not to speak loudly, not to laugh. To perform the ceremony , they prepare a scarecrow and a pile of money to burn.
The process for the ceremony is as follows::
+ Select two people holding a puppet and the host will call Uncle Cuoi to earth. Only when the puppet moves, showing that the two people are compatible with each other, is the ceremony allowed to take place normally.
+ The person hosting the ceremony asks uncle Cuoi a question, which is often about the time of getting married and the guidance for marriage.
+ To finish the ceremony, the host will burn the prepared paper, if uncle Cuoi will go to the moon, the puppet will not move.
BOI TRANG CEREMONY
Indigenous People
The people here are very friendly and hospitable. Although life is still difficult, they are always optimistic and live meaningfully by helping and supporting each other. For visitors, they always show them the warmest smiles, the care and the most sincere and devoted support.
As small as it seems, Ta Phin is home to many ethnic minorities: Red Dao people, Black Mong people, ... They still preserve the traditional cultural features that have been preserved for hundreds of years.
Come to Ta Phin, not only you can feel the beautiful nature but you can also live and experience traditional culture in order to have a better understanding of the lifestyle that has been passed down from generations to generations of Red Dao people and Black Mong people.
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What do travelers say
when they come to Ta Phin?
Coming to Ta Phin, I really had the opportunity to live slowly, to let my soul blend with nature and immerse myself in the wildest thoughts. Through the experience in Taphin, especially some small stories of indigenous people, I have the opportunity to realize many things. For the first time, I looked inside myself and asked: Am I happy with my present?
Thanks to the trip, I have found myself growing up, feeling really happy after a long, tiring day in the city. Standing in front of this beautiful landscape,i just want to say "I love this land"
_Hai Dang from Ha Noi_
Initially, I only planned to visit Ta Phin for a short period of time because I had heard the old monastery here was very beautiful and when I arrived, every corner turned out to be so beautiful that my photos were very stunning in spite of being taken very quickly. What impressed me most was the feeling of tranquility when I immersed myself in nature.
Although my visit didn’t last for long, Ta Phin's rustic beauty has made me "fall in love". I decided to make another trip to Ta Phin as soon as possible!
_Thuy Linh from Nam Dinh_
_Hua Tue from Ha Long_
Being invited to join bonding activities with classmates at the weekend, I was very hesitant at first, because I did not know how everything would be in 2 weekend days. And the trip completely changed my mind. Ta Phin was very beautiful with fresh air, bringing a feeling of peace and incredible relaxation. The Red Dao people were simple, friendly and always ready to share their unique culture with us. Therefore, it is always said that if you visit the Northwest, you will not want to go back.
In the midst of a rushy and stressful urban life, I started to appreciate this relaxing moment with my friends.
I traveled with my family to Sapa on the weekends and we visited Ta Phin. Beautiful scenery was not difficult to capture in Northwest Vietnam. Lying inside Ta Phin, there were traditional houses of people from ethnic minorities, immense terraced fields, and winding roads clinging to hills and mountains.
The special feature of Ta Phin that is different from the places I have been to is that I can stay with indigenous people. People here have given me new perspectives on everything, showing me how to live with caring and sharing. Surely this will not be the last time I and my family are here. We will come to Ta Phin in the near future.
_Nhat Linh from Ha Noi_
Before coming to Ta Phin, I used to think that traveling is the same thing everywhere because I had been forced to go and continued to get tired of a busy schedule filled with tours. However, with the cooperative, my experience was completely different. I was away from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi, returning my soul to the most spacious and beautiful nature.
Ta Phin is not only beautiful in majestic, lush landscapes that are hard to find in anywhere else, and especially with its unique cultural experiences: taking herbal bath, trying on the Red Dao bride’s clothes, painting cultural patents of Mong people with beeswax , living with a Red Dao family, listening to their stories, and watching their lifestyle. That’s so great!