Ethnic minority-owned, award-winning social enterprise “Sapa O’Chau”, known for empowering the ethnic minority groups in and around Sapa, is now expanding its operations to other regions in Northern Vietnam and turning into “Green Local Travel – True Local Experiences”.
We are excited to announce new trekking tours designed to help you discover some hidden gems in Sapa. With 16 years of living in Sapa and nearly a decade of collaboration with Mrs. Shu Tan, the owner of Sapa O’Chau, I have gained a deep understanding of the local people's challenges and their needs. Our tours aim to support the community while providing you with an unforgettable experience. Join us to explore the beauty of Sapa and contribute to the well-being of its residents.
However, this does not mean we change our values. As before, we put great effort into creating responsible, sustainable, local tours customized to your needs and wishes. From trekking to motorbike to market to handicraft tours, private or small group, everything is possible. As before, our main aim is not making profits, BUT
contributing to the local communities and at the same time allowing you to experience their local ways of living. After covering our costs, all the money goes to the local people and local nature.
So, how do we work, what do we do more specifically?
- We train local tour guides, teach them English language and other needed skills.
- We connect you with those tour guides who know their places best sharing their culture, history and traditions. During tours you will be treated like a family member, will stay at local homestays, will eat and drink with local families and will take part in their everyday lives.
- We organize/support local projects, such as improving village schools, providing minority youth with high school education, offering a variety of volunteer classes (subject to availability of volunteers), providing winter clothes for children etc.
- We rely on volunteers who are keen to work with us as well as donations in order to keep the costs as low as possible.
If you want to be more than just a visitor and want to give back to people and places, we would be happy to have you with us! Together we can make a difference!
In case you hear about Sapa O’Chau for the first time, in the following some more background information: Sapa O’Chau (in Hmong language “Sapa Thank You”) was established by the Black Hmong Shu Tan with help of four Australian friends in 2007 and has been the first tour operator in Vietnam officially registered as a social enterprise. As Shu Tan many ethnic minority people are born into poverty, have to work in the fields and to sell at the streets to make a living without having access to proper education. So she decided to make a difference to her ethnic minority community, and with strong belief in herself and encouraging others to follow her example she did. Opening a boarding school for minority high school students, training and teaching tour guides, building homestays. Until today Sapa O’Chau has gained widespread reputation in Sapa – Just ask a random minority person you meet at the streets about Sapa O’Chau and they will know what you are talking about. Moreover, it received several awards, among others the 2017 World Responsible Tourism Award for the “Best Community Initiative”.1 Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic the boarding school had to close due to lack of money, but we are working hard to get back on track.
1https://responsibletourismpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Report-WTM-RT-Awards-2017.pdf
