The organisers of a new community-based trekking route in remote northern Laos believe that the inclusion and training of villagers in three mountain hamlets is a positive example of responsible travel. Their hope is that the community-based tourism activity will enhance the quality of life for the villagers.
- Women pioneers
- Two-way learning
- Positive partnership
- Close co-operation
- About Khiri Travel
- About Camino Women
Women pioneers
On February 16, six Australian women will be the first tourists to walk the Soum-son Trail.
The four-day trek, organised by Camino Women (Australia) and Khiri Travel (Laos), will be part of a 12-day northern Laos journey which includes a slow boat ride on the Mekong river, a train ride, visits to Buddhist caves and an elephant park, walks in paddy fields, meetings with various ethnic group villagers, and experiencing the UNESCO world heritage township of Luang Prabang.
In preparation to receive the women, 26 people from the three remote villages joined three days of training in Luang Prabang in December. The villagers learned about community-based tourism, safety standards, housekeeping service, waste management, food preparation, and customer service during hands-on practical sessions led by four community tourism experts from the Lao government.
Two-way learning
Camino Women and Khiri Travel’s charitable arm, Khiri Reach, paid for the training. After consulting with the villagers about what else they may need, Khiri Reach and Camino donated two laptop computers, school books, and preserved foods to the three villages on the remote hiking trail.
“Our approach is to treat tourism as a supplementary source of income for the villagers who are rice farmers,” said Julie Beaufrère, country manager for Khiri Travel Laos.
“We don’t want over-dependency on tourism. And the cultural learning process is also very much both ways between villagers and the women hikers.”