A lush, eco-friendly farm and lodge nestled in the northern countryside of Vietnam offers visitors an experience both exceptional and meaningful.
Visitors to Vietnam who have already checked the top destinations off their lists—or who are simply looking for a more authentic taste of the country—should take the road less traveled to Green Vietnam Ecolodge, located in Tuyen Quang Province, buried in the green hills of northeastern Vietnam.
After a scenic but cramped bus ride four hours from Hanoi and another fifteen minutes on the back of a motorbike taxi, the shady courtyard and warm smiles of Quang and his wife Huyen are a welcome sight for guests. The family and their 3 excited dogs will greet you as you're offered iced tea and the sweetest jackfruit you’ve ever tasted—straight off the tree hanging above your head.
Welcome to Green Vietnam Ecolodge, an agrarian paradise with a purpose. This family owned and operated homestay lodge gives guests the rare opportunity to see life on a real Vietnamese farm, to relish the tranquil charm of the natural surroundings, and to support an important cause all at once.
All proceeds from the lodge feed directly back into the development of the farm’s ecologically conscious agricultural practices and village-wide training efforts, led by the owner, 31-year-old Vuong Ngoc Quang.
Guests are offered a comfortable bed in a quiet, rustic, rebuilt Tay stilt house, a short walk up a viney path from the family’s own one-room house. Soon you’re settled in and relaxing on the upper terrace, overlooking lush fruit orchards and the pastoral valley beyond, wondering if its been only minutes since you’ve arrived, or hours or days. City dwellers may have nearly forgotten the feeling of clean air in their lungs before being reminded here.
The lodge can accommodate up to fourteen guests, most of them in a single large room, with two smaller, private rooms available as well. The bath and shower are attached to the side of the building, so you can watch the sun rise over the valley as you brush your teeth in the morning. Despite spotty electricity throughout the province, it stays pleasantly cool throughout the night with the fresh breezes blowing in off the hillside through the open sides of the house.
Meals are a truly special affair when you stay at the Ecolodge. Each dish is made from local, fresh ingredients, many of them from the family’s own organic vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and pig farm.
There’s grilled pork similar to bun cha, fried nem with meat and home-made mien noodles, and all-natural tofu produced locally using traditional methods, with no additives or fillers. You can really taste the difference; not only is Huyen’s cooking a step above, but the ingredients themselves are bursting with flavor.
It’s not only the food that makes this a treat; meals are eaten family-style, sitting in a circle on bamboo floor mats. Their two children chatter with each other and with any cousins, aunts or uncles who have gathered for the meal. Everyone is clearly comfortable with the presence of visitors in their home. It’s the perfect opportunity to practice your conversational Vietnamese, but don’t worry; even if you speak very little, Quang and Huyen’s English is excellent.
After supper, you may be offered a glass or two of the farm’s own premium-quality rice wine, available in snake, gecko, or seahorse varieties, or with tamer infusions like blackberry, honeycomb, and lychee.
Quang is brimming with stories, information, and guidance. He can show you around the farm and the surrounding village or point you in the right direction for hiking, swimming, and exploring caves or waterfalls.
Or, you can simply take a spectacular ride through the province, where you can take in more of the luscious farmland, the clusters of Tay and Hoa stilt houses, and the iconic scenes of women bent over in the rice fields and buffalo cooling themselves in pools along the road.
Of course, the country life is a lot more than postcard pictures and smiling faces; it’s hard work, and many of the farmers in this region struggle to get by on their crops of cassava, rice, and corn, especially with increasing drought. This is where Quang’s eco-farm comes in; he’s working to train farmers in the region to adopt practices that aim not only to improve the environment, but also to alleviate poverty.
At the core of his mission is the replacement of cassava and corn with fruit trees and indigenous hardwoods, which yield significantly higher profits and effectively conserve water and the soil’s nutrients.
A new bio-gas system has also been installed, which will process pig manure into methane gas to fuel generators that will power irrigation pumps and, with time, Quang hopes, the entire farm.
The lodge opened in September 2009; since that time they’ve already attracted 140 guests, the highest number of any spot in the province.
Quang has partnered with the owner of La Vie Vu Linh, another eco-lodge located nearby in neighboring Yen Bai Province. He explains that many tourists hop from one place to the other, given their proximity and similar missions.
After a few short days at the Green Vietnam Ecolodge, you’ll probably find yourself feeling healthier and calmer. Suddenly the noise and traffic of Hanoi and the frenetic tourist sites seem a million miles away and you may just decide you like it that way.
Of course, you can’t stay forever, but when you have to leave, you'll do so feeling you’ve experienced something extraordinary and contributed to a material cause for the future of sustainable agriculture in Vietnam.
