Da Bia Village

About the village

Nestled along the banks of the Da River, Da Bia in Duc Phong Village is home to 200 members of the Mường Ạu Tá ethnic group. Blessed with both mountains and rivers, Da Bia offers tourists cultural activities as well as physical activities, such as swimming, kayaking, boat cruising, cycling, hiking, and village walks. The friendly people of Da Bia welcome guests with specialty wine, delicious meals and old-time tales. 

About the province

Located on the entrance to the Northwest region of Vietnam, Hoa Binh Province is proud to be one of the cradles of Vietnamese ancient culture and Văn hóa Hòa Bình (Hoa Binh culture.) Hoa Binh province is home to beautiful natural landscapes, primeval forests, majestic caves, poetic lakes and waterfalls, terraced rice fields, and winding steep passes, as well as ethnic minority groups. Currently, there are about 20 community-based tourism hamlets and villages in Hoa Binh, including in Mai Chau District, Da Bac District, and Tan Lac District.

Indigenous groups

The inhabitants of Da Bia cluster are Mường Ạu Tá, a sub-group of the Mường ethnic group, the 4th largest group among 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam. The tale of their origin has been passed down by word of mouth for generations. 

Female costumes of the Au Ta are more varied than males’. Women wear ao com (ao pàt), a shirt with a short body reaching waist level, hugging the body tightly. The Au Ta skirt is famous for its intricately and beautifully woven brocade patterns, and the skirt is made of black velvet or foot-length satin. 

Jewelry includes bracelets, beads and sets of two or four silver bars with hanging peach boxes and silver-covered tiger and bear claws. Men’s clothing is simpler, with brown clothing being the most popular. On important holidays such as weddings, wealthy families wear more elaborate designs. The shamans of the village wear a five-piece ao dai buttoned on the right armpit, dyed blue or black, with pointed cloth hat.

General information

Population: 200 people, 42 households

Area: 4,000,000 sqm (400 ha)

Climate: Da Bac has a distinct winter and summer season. The cool but mostly dry winter lasts from November to March, with the average temperature ranging from 17 to 22°C. This is the best time to visit Da Bac if you want to experience trekking and hiking. During the colder months, the temperature can drop to below 10°C.

Summer lasts from April to November when it is hot and humid, and the region goes through its highest rainfall. July to September are often the wettest months of the year, and unsuitable for trekking. However, if travellers want to experience sightseeing, swimming or kayaking, this time is ideal as the region is covered with the green cornfields and the lake is filled up with fresh water.

Attractions

Travellers coming to Da Bia Village can experience the beauty of Hoa Binh Lake, where locals live in floating houses and use an array of boats to get around. Swimming, kayaking, fishing and rafting are all possible on the lake, and ideal in the early morning. For active travellers, it’s an eight kilometer trek to nearby Muc Village, passing natural scenery and lake views.

Activities

There are many ways to relax and immerse in the ethnic culture of Da Bia Village. Travellers can visit the floating fish farms on the lake, try fishing with the locals, or go to the hillside farms to join in harvesting produce. Go for a coffee at the Da Bia Tourist Information Center which offers soothing views of the water. Together with ethnic people, travelers can learn how to weave bamboo into crafts, or make roof tiles, flags and rafts with natural materials. In the kitchen, culinary enthusiasts can make ‘bánh ốc’ (shell-shaped cake) with rice and banana leaves. Catch a traditional music and dance performance in the evening to better appreciate the ethnic culture of the Muong Au Ta minority.

Accommodation

Da Bia offers travellers a choice of five homestays that can each accommodate about 70 people. The hamlet has many ancient stilt houses, which are the common living spaces of the Muong people. The visitors’ space is usually decorated with painted wood carvings, and arranged in separate compartments with curtains surrounding comfortable beds, most with windows and views of the greenery outside. 

Support for Da Bia Village

Hoa Binh province is quite mountainous, and its population is almost entirely dependent upon agricultural production (rice, maize, and other cash crops.) Poverty and illiteracy affects about 16% of the population. Hoa Binh also has a relatively high population of ethnic minorities, including the Muong and Dao people.

In Da Bac District, ethnic minority groups account for 90% of the district’s total population, mainly Tay, Muong, Dao, and Thai. The district’s poverty rate is more than 24%. With the support of AOP, Da Bac has grown into a well-known community-based tourism destination with four well-established villages in three communes.

Since June 2014, Action on Poverty in Vietnam has provided orientation and support for community-based tourism development, and some households have participated in tourism and received loans from the project, as well as advice on home remodelling, training in cooking and skills to welcome tourists. Within Da Bia Village Action on Poverty has helped to set up 10 different service groups with the participation of 33 households.