{"id":2835,"date":"2025-05-29T16:22:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T09:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/when-farmers-turn-to-tourism-the-transformation-journey-of-ghenh-che-lake-thai-nguyen\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T22:41:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T15:41:41","slug":"when-farmers-turn-to-tourism-the-transformation-journey-of-ghenh-che-lake-thai-nguyen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/when-farmers-turn-to-tourism-the-transformation-journey-of-ghenh-che-lake-thai-nguyen\/","title":{"rendered":"When Farmers Turn to Tourism: The Transformation Journey of Ghenh Che Lake, Thai Nguyen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"293\" data-end=\"729\"><em><strong>In the once-impoverished region of Binh Son commune (Song Cong City, Thai Nguyen Province), local farmers are learning to develop community-based tourism, transforming their agricultural labor into meaningful experiential products. Guided by local government initiatives and supported by cooperative efforts and community engagement, the ecotourism model at Ghenh Che Lake is emerging as a pioneering example of sustainable rural development\u2014rooted in the hands and agency of farmers themselves. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"343\"><strong data-start=\"298\" data-end=\"343\">From Marginalized Lands to a New Vision<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"345\" data-end=\"754\">Located in Binh Son commune, Song Cong City, the hamlets of Tien Tien and Carim were historically isolated and underdeveloped in terms of both economy and infrastructure. Home to over 90 households primarily dependent on agriculture and forestry, life in these areas was peaceful yet marked by scarcity. However, Ghenh Che Lake\u2014a pristine natural attraction nestled amid verdant tea hills\u2014had long held untapped tourism potential.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"756\" data-end=\"1148\">Transformation began with provincial and municipal directives that promoted the development of a community-based ecotourism model around the lake. This strategy aimed to integrate economic development with landscape preservation and cultural heritage. With this new orientation, residents\u2014long accustomed to tilling the land\u2014embarked on a journey to learn tourism, initiating a challenging yet hopeful transition in livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Khi n\u00f4ng d\u00e2n h\u1ecdc l\u00e0m du l\u1ecbch c\u1ed9ng \u0111\u1ed3ng\" width=\"1020\" height=\"574\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iyZhHhKd6rY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1150\" data-end=\"1197\"><strong data-start=\"1153\" data-end=\"1197\">Learning Tourism from Their Own Land<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1199\" data-end=\"1631\">Lacking prior experience in hospitality or services, Tien Tien villagers had to begin with the basics. They learned how to welcome guests, lead tours, and organize tea-picking and tea-roasting activities\u2014routines once confined to daily labor in the fields. Pioneers like Mr. Hiep and Mr. Chinh invested in stilt-house homestays, landscaped their surroundings, and drew inspiration from successful tourism models in other regions to adapt and implement locally.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1633\" data-end=\"1959\">Crucially, the Ghenh Che model follows the concept of &#8220;experiential agriculture&#8221;\u2014wherein farmers maintain their traditional livelihoods but elevate the value of their work by integrating it into tourism experiences. Tea-pickers become guides; tea gardens transform into hands-on classrooms; stilt houses evolve into rustic, culturally-rich accommodations.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1633\" data-end=\"1959\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1644\" src=\"https:\/\/riat.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ho-ghenh-che-1024x480.jpg\" alt=\"h\u1ed3 gh\u1ec1nh ch\u00e8\" width=\"1020\" height=\"478\" srcset=\"https:\/\/riat.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ho-ghenh-che-1024x480.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/riat.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ho-ghenh-che-300x141.jpg 300w, https:\/\/riat.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ho-ghenh-che-768x360.jpg 768w, https:\/\/riat.vn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ho-ghenh-che.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"1961\" data-end=\"2010\"><strong data-start=\"1964\" data-end=\"2010\">Self-Reliance: Transforming the Village from Within<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2012\" data-end=\"2332\">Rather than depending solely on external investment, it is the community itself that has driven the change. Residents voluntarily planted flower-lined roads, contributed funds and labor to reinforce the lakeshore, and beautified their village environment. Once plagued by doubt and inertia, Tien Tien hamlet now stands as a vivid illustration of grassroots-driven tourism development.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2334\" data-end=\"2689\">Despite initial challenges\u2014such as hesitation to contribute financially and a lack of service skills\u2014villagers gradually adapted. They began to witness tangible benefits: guest visits increased, income rose, and change became visible. Most importantly, community awareness transformed\u2014from improved environmental sanitation to the realization that \u201cto go far, we must go together.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"2691\" data-end=\"2739\"><strong data-start=\"2694\" data-end=\"2739\">A Sustainable Path Built on Community Strength<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2741\" data-end=\"3126\">What is most valuable about the Ghenh Che model is not merely the arrival of tourists, but the emergence of a new rural perspective. Here, locals are not passive laborers serving the tourism industry, but active creators of tourism products, services, and narratives. They design models, coordinate activities, and above all, rediscover value in work that once seemed ordinary.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3128\" data-end=\"3466\">As such, the community-based tourism initiative at Ghenh Che Lake is more than a local development strategy; it is a testament that\u2014with proper guidance, initial state support, and above all, strong community agency\u2014Vietnamese rural areas can build sustainable, culturally-rich, and nature-harmonious tourism models.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3128\" data-end=\"3466\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the once-impoverished region of Binh Son commune (Song Cong City, Thai Nguyen Province), local farmers are learning to develop community-based tourism, transforming their agricultural labor into meaningful experiential products. Guided by local government initiatives and supported by cooperative efforts and community engagement, the ecotourism model at Ghenh Che Lake is emerging as a pioneering&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[343,402],"tags":[405],"class_list":["post-2835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-based-tourism-en","category-tourism-news","tag-thai-nguyen-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riat.vn\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}