Local Vietnam Launches Highland Craft Workshops at Ha Giang Aya Lodge as Loop Tourism Income Bypasses Mountain Villages

Ha Giang, Vietnam – Travel company Local Vietnam has launched a program of traditional craft workshops hosted directly inside working Hmong and Dao households at its Ha Giang Aya Lodge. The initiative aims to direct tourism income to the mountain communities along the Ha Giang Loop, a route that has become one of Southeast Asia’s most visited motorbike circuits over the past decade, yet leaves little revenue in the villages it passes through.

Most revenue generated by the popular circuit is currently captured by operators based in Hanoi or Ha Giang City. To address this imbalance, Local Vietnam’s new program covers six traditional crafts still practiced in the region: flax harvesting and hand-weaving, beeswax batik with indigo dyeing, Red Dao embroidery using forest-herb dyes, corn wine brewing over a wood fire with leaf yeast, incense blended from forest bark, and cooking at the household hearth. Participating families receive direct compensation for hosting visitors.

Unlike standard demonstration centers, the workshops take place within active family homes, with availability shifting alongside the local agricultural calendar. Corn wine is brewed only when the maize harvest is complete, and flax is worked strictly in season.

“Most craft experiences in Vietnam are built for the visitor,” said Marnick Schoonderwoerd, co-owner of Local Vietnam, who operates the lodge with his wife, Nhung Phung. “A room is set up, someone performs the craft, everyone photographs it and leaves. That is not what happens here. If the season is wrong, the workshop does not run. It sounds like a commercial weakness, but it is the only version that is real.”

Cultural Heritage on a UNESCO Global Geopark

Ha Giang Aya Lodge is located in Sung Trai, a village situated on the Dong Van Karst Plateau. The area holds UNESCO Global Geopark status, a designation that explicitly recognizes the local population alongside its geological features. UNESCO’s framework identifies sustainable tourism and education as primary mechanisms for supporting cultural identity and strengthening local livelihoods in the region.

The geopark is home to 17 ethnic groups, some of which have inhabited the plateau for between 500 and 800 years. Hmong communities comprise over 60 percent of the population, forming the largest Hmong community in Vietnam. Beyond the plateau’s limestone canyons and 550-million-year geological record, UNESCO documents a rich array of local crafts, oral traditions, festivals, and musical practices.

However, several of these traditional crafts face decline as younger residents increasingly migrate to lowland cities for wage labor. Local Vietnam’s direct-payment model aims to make maintaining these traditional skills economically viable for local families.

“When a craft earns nothing, it becomes a hobby for old people and then it disappears,” said Duong Phung, co-director of Local Vietnam and manager at Ha Giang Aya Lodge. “When it earns money, daughters learn it from their mothers. That is the whole idea. We are not preserving anything. The families are. We are making it worth their time.”

About Ha Giang Aya Lodge

Ha Giang Aya Lodge opened in early 2026 with 14 rooms and is staffed almost entirely by residents from surrounding villages, who receive fixed wages alongside English language and hospitality training. The lodge is situated within an active working village rather than a repurposed homestay settlement. Following administrative reforms in 2025, the province was merged into Tuyen Quang, though the region’s famous travel route retains the Ha Giang name.

The lodge offers year-round cultural day tours alongside seasonal craft workshops. Guided treks into Sung Trai and neighboring valleys operate from April through June and September through November.

About Local Vietnam

Local Vietnam is an independent travel company specializing in custom and private itineraries throughout Vietnam. Founded by Marnick Schoonderwoerd and Nhung Phung, the company has operated in the region for over a decade and publishes travel guides in English, Dutch, and German. Local Vietnam owns and operates Ha Giang Aya Lodge in Sung Trai along the Ha Giang Loop.

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Media Contact
Company Name: Local Vietnam
Contact Person: Marnick Schoonderwoerd
Email: Send Email
City: Ha Giang
Country: Vietnam
Website: localvietnam.com