Quang Ngai women working in tourism

Rowing a boat and being a tour guide at the same time

In Phu Long village, Pho Khanh commune (Duc Pho town, Quang Ngai ), there are nearly 40 women who are engaged in fishing in An Khe lagoon. Since An Khe lagoon became a part of the Sa Huynh Culture National Monument system, dozens of women here have both rowed small boats and worked as tour guides to take tourists on tours and experiences on the lagoon.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Xi ( right cover) participates in rowing a boat to take tourists to visit An Khe lagoon (Duc Pho town, Quang Ngai)

With 40 years of experience in fishing on An Khe lagoon, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Xi (56 years old, in Phu Long village, Pho Khanh commune) has become a reliable boatman for tourists when they come to visit. According to Mrs. Xi, in the past 2 years, An Khe lagoon has attracted a lot of tourists, especially in the summer. On average, she carries 5-7 groups of tourists every day.

"Seeing An Khe lagoon become a tourist attraction, we are very happy and appreciate it. On each trip, we guide, introduce and take tourists to beautiful places of our homeland such as Dua beach, An Khe creek. We hope that everyone who visits An Khe lagoon will be happy, satisfied and will come back. So we always treat tourists with sincerity. As for money, we accept as much as tourists give, we do not ask for it and never take more than 100,000 VND/trip", Ms. Xi expressed.

Women in Phu Long village, Pho Khanh commune (Duc Pho town) do community tourism

Born and raised in the land located right next to An Khe lagoon, Mrs. Pham Thi Luat (56 years old, in Phu Long village, Pho Khanh commune) said that she followed her parents to the fishing profession since childhood. Up to now, she has had 48 years of working as a net fisher and clam raker in An Khe lagoon.

Mrs. Luat said that because her father died early, her family life was too difficult, so at the age of 8 she followed her mother to fish on An Khe lagoon to earn a living. By the age of 12, she could start to replace her mother in rowing the boat. Then, until she got married, she and her husband continued their work on the river. Later, when her husband fell ill, she fished on the lagoon alone to earn a living.

Create a stable income

"My life on An Khe lagoon with the fishermen here usually starts from 7 pm until dawn the next day. In the rainy season, the amount of seafood in the lagoon is very large, after each fishing trip, I earn from 500,000 to 700,000 VND, sometimes up to 1 million VND. In the dry season, when the nets gradually become lighter, I do extra work like raking mussels, hunting on the lagoon, and also working as a boatman to guide tourists. Like that, my husband and I raised 5 children to grow up and become successful in their studies," Mrs. Luat happily said.

Countryside Cuisine Night Program at Binh Thanh Community Tourism Village

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Phit, Head of the Women's Association of Phu Long village, currently Phu Long village still has nearly 40 women who depend on fishing on An Khe lagoon, of which about 10 people living near An Khe lagoon have accepted to take tourists on tours on the lagoon.

"During the dry months, especially from May to August, a woman who takes tourists on sightseeing trips can earn an additional income of 100,000 - 500,000 VND/day. This is a promising economic development direction, so in the long term, local women with experience in river navigation need to be oriented and supported to serve tourists more professionally and develop a more sustainable livelihood," said Ms. Phit.

The fruit garden in Binh Thanh village (Hanh Nhan commune, Nghia Hanh district, Quang Ngai) becomes an interesting experience for students.

Community tourism development

In Binh Thanh village, Hanh Nhan commune (Nghia Hanh district, Quang Ngai), there are many fruit gardens with quality not inferior to that of fruits in the West. Here, people grow fruits such as grapefruit, rambutan, banana, and durian.

In addition to fruit products, Binh Thanh village also maintains the traditional occupations that have existed for more than 100 years, such as growing mulberry and raising silkworms, making banh it, banh su se, banh bot loc. This is an interesting experience service to serve tourists, especially students.

So here, many women participate in tourism courses, visit community tourism models in many places. Since then, the farmers here have established the Binh Thanh Agricultural - Service and Community Tourism Cooperative to do community tourism to earn more income and promote and introduce their homeland.

Tourists participate in the experience of making traditional cakes at Binh Thanh community tourism village (Hanh Nhan commune, Nghia Hanh district, Quang Ngai)

These days, Mrs. Tran Thi Nhon's house (66 years old, member of Binh Thanh Agricultural - Service and Community Tourism Cooperative) continuously welcomes groups of visitors to experience the traditional cake making profession. The special thing is that every step of making cakes is done by hand by Mrs. Nhon, keeping the traditional way of making, so it requires a lot of effort and meticulousness, which is also the point that attracts tourists when coming here. During the peak tourist season, every month Mrs. Nhon welcomes about 4 - 5 groups of visitors, each group of about 50 - 70 visitors to experience making cakes under her guidance.

"With more than 30 years of experience making banh tet, banh bot loc, etc., I enthusiastically guide tourists in making each cake, explaining the origin of each type of cake so that tourists can better understand the traditional cake. Up to now, my traditional cake brand has become a favorite destination for tourists when coming to Binh Thanh," said Ms. Nhon.

Ms. Le Thi Mon (a member of the Binh Thanh Agricultural - Service and Community Tourism Cooperative) said that she has been making banh it for 13 years, making 500 - 1,000 cakes a day. Ms. Mon not only makes cakes to sell every day but also participates in community tourism with the locality.

"I earn about 300,000 - 400,000 VND per day from baking. Since I started baking and doing tourism, I see that baking not only brings income but also brings joy to people and promotes traditional banh it," Ms. Mon shared.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Tien, a tourist from Quang Ngai City, said that she had been to many places and discovered many interesting things, but she had never had such a close, familiar feeling and many special things as in Binh Thanh (Hanh Nhan Commune). Coming here, she and her friends and relatives were able to discover how farmers wrap corn rolls, learn how to make banh it... "At the same time, my children also got to experience making traditional dishes and visit the fruit garden," she said.

Mr. Dinh Xuan Sam, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghia Hanh District (Quang Ngai), said that building Binh Thanh village into a tourist village and achieving the results today is a new step on the basis of promoting agricultural strengths, increasing product value, and raising income for the local community.

Create an experience highlight

With the results in the past time and the enthusiastic participation of farmers, the locality will continue to act as a "midwife" for the Binh Thanh Agricultural - Service and Community Tourism Cooperative to move towards forming a 3-star OCOP tourism product. In particular, it will build an experiential tourism product associated with the community in Binh Thanh village to create an experience highlight for tourists when they come to visit.

Mr. Dinh Xuan Sam (Chairman of People's Committee of Nghia Hanh District)

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/phu-nu-quang-ngai-lam-du-lich-185240114191937724.htm