Nam Ha Homestay “Khmu Village”
Trip Overview
Experience the Khmu culture & traditional, taste the Khmu meals, learn & practice how to husking rice, black smith, making bamboo basket “bamboo toys such as: birds, frogs, cup…” Khmu traditional Baci-ceremony, Khmu performance & sword dance (If you order), trek through the jungle forest & mountain to learn about nature, wild life, technique for hunting animals & experience local food.
Itinerary
Start at 13:00 O’clock from our office or your hotel by Tuk Tuk driving along the road 3A around 30 minutes to where we start trekking through the jungle forest and mountain to learn about nature, wildlife and technique for hunting animals.You will arrival the village of Nam Ha around 16:30 where you stay overnight at a private home provided by the village. Today you will join & practice some activities provided by small group of community-based tourism such as: husking rice by feet or hand, Khmu traditional Baci-ceremony, Khmu sword dance, meet the local people, talk with owner people about village history & go to bed.
In the morning next day. While waiting for the breakfast visit groups of knife making, participate bamboo basket making “bamboo toys such as: birds, frogs, cup…” after breakfast participate in activities of the family depending on the season watch or take part such as:
- January-March: planting vegetables, sowing corn etc.
- April-May: go and learn how to grow rice on mountain-slopes etc.
- June-August: go and learn how to prepare the fields for wet rice & to plant the seedlings.
- September: plant & care vegetable-gardens etc.
- October-November: go, watch or help to harvest the mountain- and the mountain-rice or corn etc.
- December-January: take part in house building & festivals or in collecting food.
The trip will finish around 10:00 in the morning and the final the Tuk Tuk will pick up you back to Luang Namtha town.
Khmu Ethnic Group & Ban Nam Ha
The Khmu or their ancestors probably settled the area of present-day Laos several thousand years ago and are one of the most populous ethnic groups in Laos. Part of the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austro-Asiatic linguistic family, the Khmu are divided into many sub-groups including the Khmu Lue, Kwaen, Rok and Ou, with the majority of Khmu in Luang Namtha being Kwaen or Rok. Like many of the ethnic groups in northern Laos, the Khmu are not Buddhist, but practice their own form of animism.
The Khmu in Luang Namtha generally practice mixed economies, growing rice, hunting, gathering forest products and producing handicrafts to generate some cash income. Because the Khmu are highly knowledgeable about medicinal plants and are highly skilled producers of woven rattan and bamboo basketry, many Khmu villages are regularly visited by tourists that purchase handicrafts and hire local guides to lead them on forest treks.
Tourism has become a new and important source of income for a number of Khmuvillages in Luang Namtha, especially in the villages located on the Nam Ha Village.
Nam Ha Village located around 29 km along the road 3A from Luang Namtha-Vieng Phoukha & also located at in the center of Nam Ha National Biodiversity Conservation Area that we call the name of the village “Nam Ha” & still keeps their traditional culture and way of life.
Nowadays Nam Ha Village organize Homestay & community based tourism activities, you can stay 1 night or 2 nights get experience the Khmuculture & traditional, taste local meals, learn & practice how to husking rice, black smith, making bamboo basket “bamboo toys such as: birds, frogs, cup…” Khmutraditional Baci-ceremony, sword dance, half day trek through the jungle forest & mountain to learn about nature, wild life, technique for hunting animals & experience local food.
Detailed info & Prices:
Tour ID: LT-HS-05
Duration: 1 night/half day
Operational: Daily, 13:00
Difficulty: Easy, suitable for families.
Highlights: Experience the Khmu culture, traditional and taste the Khmu meals; Learn & practice how to husking rice, black smith, making bamboo basket “bamboo toys such as: birds, frogs, cup…”; Khmu traditional Baci-ceremony, Khmuperformance & sword dance.
Trek through the jungle forest & mountain to learn about nature, wildlife, technique for hunting animals & experience local food.
Price USD: The price ranges from US$62/Person for 8 + Pax to US$192/Person for 1 Pax.
The price varies according to the number of participants. The price decreases as more tourists book the same trek!
Please contact us to check the availability of a tour & the number of people who have already signed up for the tour for an accurate pricing.
Price Includes:
- English speaking tour guide
- Local guide from the Khmu village
- Transportation from your hotel & back to hotel
- Accommodation (Khmu Homestay)
- Meals (4 meals covered) “Local food or Jungle style”
- Drinking water during the trip
- Nam Ha National Protected Area Fee
- All activities mention on itinerary
- Community distribution
- Government Taxes and charges
Not included: Elements not mentioned in “Tour includes”; All kind of soft drinks or alcohol during your tour.
Note: For your impression & get more experience to join our homestay. We offer transportation for you as Tuk Tuk (Local Taxi) & Bicycle please choose one.
Extra info:
More Information about Homestay
What is homestay accommodation?
Homestay is a popular form of hospitality and lodging whereby visitors sleep at the residence of a local of the town to which they are traveling. … Farm stays are a type of a homestay, in which the visitor stays on a working farm.
What is homestay Programme?
A homestay programme gives tourists the opportunity to stay with a chosen family, interact and experience the daily life of their homestay family and learn the culture and lifestyle of the rural community in Luang Namtha, Laos. … It focuses more on lifestyle and experience, including cultural and economic activities.
Khmu Homestay
Very basic accommodation with toilet outside, each homestay include mattress, blanket, mosquito net, towel and pillows.
What you should bring on a homestay
Small backpack, T-shirt, short pants, long pants, towel or sarong, pair of socks, long sleeve shirt, pair of slippers, pair of shoes, swimsuit, soap, shampoo, toothbrush & toothpaste, mosquito spray, sun cream, flashlight, 2 liter drinking water for the first day, hat or cap, first aid kit & toilet roll.
Extra in Rainy Season (June-October) = Raincoat and Hiking Boots
Extra in Cold Season (November-February) = (Jacket and Warm Pants)
The luggage you do not take on the tour you can leave in the storeroom at your hotel or our office (Please ask) as well as passport, ticket and travelers cheques which they will put in their safe. Some homestay we have to walk to there that good hiking boots are essential in the rainy season but also very handy in the other months.
Some of homestay located on the mountains it is a few degrees cooler than in Luang Namtha town. During winter it can even be cold, a few degrees Celsius above Zero. Please remember this when you do a homestay during this time.
What you should NOT take on a Homestay (Please Ask)
Passport, Flight ticket and Travelers Cheques. Whenever you lose your passport you have to go to Vientiane to get a new one. Also, a tropical shower can reduce your precious papers to something else. At the safe in your hotel your belongings will be safe!
Make sure that your photo or film camera is packed waterproof, nature here is unpredictable.
Candies for the children would be nice but they usually can’t go to the dentist easily. A donation for the village or village school is a better idea.
Bank notes in high denominations will be a problem changing them in smaller ones.
Important do’s & don’ts:
Do not give individual gifts, sweets or money to children, ask before taking photos of people or spiritual items, help keep the trails clean by not littering, please purchase handicrafts but do not purchase antiques, do not remove any archaeological remains from the site of the ancient sites, stay with the guides all the time, do not use drugs.
