After nearly 2 years of implementation, a project on strengthening community capacity in natural resource management, thereby contributing to the protection of biodiversity in the Ba Na - Nui Chua Nature Reserve, the conservation and promotion of Co Tu ethnic minority group’s culture and traditions, and the development of ecotourism in Da Nang, has changed awareness and thinking of local residents about promoting the traditional cultural values of Co Tu ethnic minority group.

The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Project experts at a training course on raising public awareness for Ta Lang and Gian Bi villagers in Hoa Bac Commune. Photo: THANH TINH

Raising awareness of locals

Mr. Truong Thanh Nhan, Vice Chairman of the Hoa Bac Commune People's Committee cum Head of the Project Management Board, said that under the project, many training courses and seminars have been organised in Hoa Bac Commune in a bid to raise people's awareness about how to effectively manage and use forest resources, promote Co Tu traditional cultural values, and conserve and sustainably exploit Nien fish, manage domestic waste, and develop ecological agriculture and community-based learning tourism.

Mr. Nhan said, through the project's activities, people found that they still need preserve and promote the traditional values ​​of Co Tu ethnic minority people.

In fact, local residents have been starting to organise community-based learning tours and picnics in the forest, build campfires with 'Cong Chieng' (Gong) space, and develop typical souvenir products.

“Not only improving awareness capacity and practical skills on conservation and environmental protection, people also make their efforts to preserve and promote the traditional cultural values ​​of the Co Tu ethnic minority group in the locality, thereby improving livelihoods and driving the socio-economic development", acknowledged Mr. Nhan.

As one of the project’s beneficiaries, Mr. Dinh Van Cu, Secretary of the Ta Lang Village Party Committee, said that, after nearly 2 years of implementation, the project has changed awareness and thinking of local residents about promoting the traditional cultural values of Co Tu ethnic minority group.

Mr. Cu added many households have been facilitated to access loans to bring their tourism-related ideas into fruition, whilst others have known to sort waste at source and protect the environment.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Van Trung, Deputy Head of the Ta Lang Village chapter of the Da Nang Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, added that the project was implemented at the right time when Hoa Bac Commune was undergoing a drastic transformation, in which the most obvious change was the increased awareness of locals.

Towards preserving and promoting traditional values

According to the Hoa Vang District People's Committee, there are about 1,500 Co Tu people living in the villages of Ta Lang and Gian Bi in Hoa Bac Commune, and Phu Tuc Village in Hoa Phu Commune.

Co Tu people keep many unique traditional cultural values, which are reflected in many aspects of social life such as customary law, community organisation, marriage, family, housing, cultural life, cuisine, etc.

In recent years, the Hoa Vang District authorities have constantly preserved the identity of the Co Tu ethnic minority group, with a focus on upgrading Guol houses and the performing art of ‘Cong Chieng’, restoring some types of folk arts, brocade weaving and wood carving, renewing ceremonies to celebrate new rice and a bumper crop, and a brotherhood ceremony, and implementing the community- based tourism model in association with preserving traditional Co Tu culture.

Mr. Do Thanh Tan, Head of the district’s Culture and Information Office, said that in the coming time, the district authorities will give top priority to preserving the spoken language of Co Tu people, promoting the efficiency of the Guol houses, and teaching cultural heritage for Co Tu students, and improving the quality of festivals and community cultural and arts programmes of Co Tu people.

Also, heed will be paid to preserving and developing traditional occupations in association with the preservation and development of Co Tu culture associated with tourism. This is considered to be an important direction in the economic development orientation for the Co Tu people in particular and Hoa Bac Commune in general.

At a meeting to review the implementation of the project in early April 2022, Mrs. Bui Thi Ga, Chairwoman of the Hoa Bac Commune chapter of the Da Nang Women’s Union cum Head of the Executive Board of the project, expressed her hope that relevant agencies in Da Nang, along with domestic and foreign organisations, would pay more attention to Hoa Bac Commune by helping the locality develop community-based tourism in a sustainable way.

She asked for support from local functional agencies to promote the images of Hoa Bac Commune as a community-based learning tourism destination to tourists from both home and abroad, thereby significantly contributing to enhancing the livelihoods of locals, and driving the locality’s socio-economic development.

Reporting by THANH TINH - Translating by M.DUNG