A Story from a Homestay

06/09/2026
In the majestic Pu Luong mountains, amid the vibrant landscape of community-based tourism, Happy Home has emerged as an appealing destination for many visitors. Behind its success lies a heartwarming story of local people’s deep connection to their birthplace and their collective efforts to develop community-based tourism on their homeland.

Happy Home Homestay, run by the family of Ha Van Dinh in Pu Luong Commune.

When Ha Van Dinh, 37, and his wife Ha Thi Sam, 33, decided to leave their birthplace and move to the Central Highlands to make a living, the whole family was filled with sadness. A deep sense of attachment and emotion seemed to hold them back, making it difficult to take those first steps away from home.

At that time, however, leaving one’s homeland had become a familiar choice in this area, as it was for many others. Older generations hoped the younger ones could find better opportunities in new lands. From an early age, young people had learned to look beyond the mountain slopes, beyond their villages and communities, placing their dreams in industrial parks and distant lands.

From the mountains and forests of Pu Luong, Dinh and Sam’s family headed to the sun-drenched and windswept Central Highlands, taking on various jobs to make a living. After years of saving, they managed to buy a piece of land and began considering settling there permanently. Yet the pull of home remained strong. The words “homeland” carried such deep meaning and affection that their call seemed to grow ever more poignant, urging those far from home to return.

As their longing for home grew stronger, community-based tourism was beginning to take root and develop in Pu Luong. During family meals, Dinh’s family began discussing the idea of returning: “Why don’t we go back home and try something new? Perhaps we can make something of it.”

The family eventually decided to return to Pu Luong, bringing warmth and life back to the small stilt house perched on a hillside after years without its owners. It was in that very house that Dinh’s family took their first tentative steps on their journey into community-based tourism.

The journey began with countless difficulties and challenges, but also with determination, resilience and a strong will to succeed. The family’s stilt house was upgraded into a small homestay, while the surrounding grounds were renovated to create a more spacious and clean environment. Flowers were planted and small landscape features added to make the setting more lively and photogenic, catering to visitors eager to capture beautiful memories.

“At that time, renovating the grounds and landscape took a great deal of time and effort because we relied mainly on manual labor. We heated the rocks and then hired local people to break them into smaller pieces...” Dinh recalled.

Despite the hardships, encouraging signs came to the family’s homestay very early on.

“Even before the house was completed, guests had already started coming to visit and making reservations for their stays. For us, that was a tremendous source of encouragement,” Dinh said.

To better meet the growing needs of visitors, the family has actively sought to learn and improve while regularly attending training courses organized by local authorities and relevant agencies to develop their knowledge, experience and skills in community-based tourism.

Thanks to their sustained efforts, what began as a small family home has grown into Happy Home, a popular and preferred destination for visitors to Pu Luong.

Covering an area of approximately 1,800 square meters, Happy Home now has nine rooms and one communal stilt house. The homestay also provides meals featuring distinctive mountain cuisine, including free-range chicken, stream duck, wild vegetables and five-color sticky rice.

The family also cultivates a plot of land to grow vegetables, fruits and other produce, providing fresh ingredients for guests’ meals. Happy Home currently provides employment for three local workers, mainly in housekeeping and food services, with monthly salaries ranging from VND 6 million to VND 8 million.

In the past, Pu Luong was simply the name of an administrative area, home to Thai and Muong villages and communities. Over the years, however, Pu Luong has become a “promised land” attracting investors and offering opportunities for people to pursue and realize their dreams of developing ecotourism and community-based tourism.

Community-based tourism has also breathed new life into the area, inspiring aspirations for a better life among generations of local people who have long depended on the mountains and forests for their livelihoods.

How can visitors come to the majestic mountains of Pu Luong, enjoy their stay, spend more freely and be eager to return? How can Pu Luong become not only a place that creates lasting impressions and memorable experiences, but also one that nurtures aspirations for development on its own soil, drawing on its local potential and cultural values?

These are not merely the responsibilities of Party committees, local authorities or any particular state management agency. They also require the consensus and collective efforts of the local community. Each person can contribute in their own way, according to their abilities, helping community-based tourism in Pu Luong reach further and become increasingly attractive to domestic and international visitors.

Source: Baothanhhoa.vn

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