RESPONSIBLE . ETHICAL . SUSTAINABLE
Our Story
Many people who visit Sapa become inspired to give something back. With the help of four Australian volunteers, Shu Tan, a young single mother from the Black Hmong tribe, was able to turn her dream of helping her people into a reality. Working together, they funded the first Hmong owned homestay in Sapa and established a socially conscious trekking service. Running on the social enterprise blueprint, Sapa O’Chau put the money earned back into the community through projects such as providing winter clothes to children and improvements to the village schools.
Later, Shu decided to tackle the problem of illiteracy among Sapa’s young tour guides and street vendors, many of whom never had the chance to go to school. With the help of a Norwegian anthropology student she organized informal English night classes for a small group of enthusiastic youths in a room provided by a local hotel. As these Sapa O’Chau classes grew in popularity, so did the need for more facilities. In the summer of 2010, the Sapa O’Chau boarding facility opened.
Sapa O’Chau Today
Today, Sapa O’Chau runs on the same social enterprise principles on which it was founded: working hard and giving back to Sapa and all ethnic minorities. It is made up of four inter-connected pieces: the boarding facility, the café, the Hmong handicraft store and the tour operation. These are administered by an amazing three-person Board of Management. Numerous partners in Sapa and beyond also provide much needed support.
The roadmap shows Sapa O'Chau beneficiaries and the effects it has on its beneficiaries. The direct beneficiaries are trekking guides, homestay owners, students, craftswomen and volunteers. These are driven by the trekking operations, cafe operations and Hmong handicraft store. Sapa O'Chau is trying to get ethnic minority high school age students back to school using a holistic approach. When the children attend school, the family will need to hire extra help for the farm. Hence, if Sapa O'Chau creates job opportunities for parents of these children, more children can attend school. These students can have better job opportunities after completing higher education. The land is not as fertile due to erosion of nutrients as rain washes them down the steep slopes where the crops are cultivated. Land is being divided into smaller and smaller portions as land is handed down from father to sons. What choice do they have?
Boarding Facility
At the Sapa O’Chau boarding facility we help students who would otherwise not be able to complete their education due to financial or geographical limitations. There are only kindergartens and primary schools in the villages hence village students need to walk at least 15 km to Sapa Town where the high schools are. Sapa O'Chau boarding facility provide the accommodation, meals and government school fees with funds mainly from our social enterprise businesses and some from grants and donations. Our students attend the government high school to obtain certification and enrichment lessons with our volunteers at Sapa O'Chau boarding facility.
With the help of international and local volunteers, we focus on conversational English of our students. We also carry out Vietnamese Literacy, Arts and Crafts, Mathematics, IT Skills and Life Skills classes subject to availability of volunteers with these skills. In 2012, we moved to a new 35 room facility that has space for four classrooms and can house students, staff and volunteers. As always, Sapa O’Chau is reliant on volunteer support to sustain our teaching requirements.
We help our students enroll in Vietnamese schools, excel in their studies and take advantage of opportunities offered by other organisations. Further vocational training is available through our links with local businesses and NGOs. Most of our students want to be tour guides or work in other ways within Sapa’s tourism industry. As a result, there is a real sense of symbiosis within the different parts of the Sapa O’Chau project: from trekking to teaching; to homestays and homework.
Our mission is to promote learning, provide sustainable employment, and empower our community.
The boarding facility is currently a 35 room building that has space for classrooms, a learning library and a computer lab and can accommodate students, staff and volunteers. We are always looking for qualified teachers to help meet our training requirements. If you are interested in volunteering please see our how you can Support Us.
However, our biggest wish is to buy our own piece of land and to build our own school/training centre. Our Italian volunteers, an architect and a computer engineer, helped us with designing our dream center. They did all this while on their honeymoon! Amazing volunteers. O'Chau! Please check back regularly as we are in the process of sourcing for suitable land and costs for buying the land and building materials. Here is a visualisation of our dream Sapa O'Chau center.
If you are in a position to help us make this wish come true please contact us.
Cafe
The Sapa O’Chau Café, located at 08 Thac Bac Road, is the hub of Sapa O’Chau’s activities. Drop in for a drink or snack, meet some of our students and trekking guides, book a tour or learn more about what we offer and how you can get involved. The building contains our administrative offices on the upper floor and our café on the main floor. This means you can stop by to meet Sapa O'Chau volunteers, get some information on our authentic homestays and treks, or simply choose from a great selection of teas, coffees and light snacks!
We have expanded next door. Now we have more toilets and bathrooms for guests to use. Our porch is double in length to let guests sit and enjoy the daily activities passing by.
With indoor and outdoor seating available, you can also just stop by to sit down and relax!
Hmong Handicraft Showroom
Our new Hmong Handicraft Showroom is just beside our cafe in Sapa and also at our new representative office in Hanoi. It showcases the comtemporary designed accessories infused with Hmong motifs. Practical yet meaningful. Come visit our Showroom if you are in Sapa or Hanoi and we can customise the accessories to fit your style. Thank you to our loyal supporters. Our handicraft are now exported to USA, Laos, Taiwan and other parts of Vietnam.
Tour Operation
Welcome to our NEW representative office in Hanoi, 18 Hang Muoi. Now you can discuss trekking options face-to-face with our Tour Operations Manager. We have a free guest lounge for our guests to freshen up, rest, access WiFi while waiting to board the bus to Sapa or wait for hotel room to be ready. Open 24 hours, just ring our doorbell or call 091 5502 589. We understand the odd hours you have to endure.
Sapa O'Chau is proud to be the first ethnic minority owned and run international tour operator in Vietnam! This is especially significant in Sapa's ethno-tourism industry. As the ambassador of responsible tourism, Sapa O’Chau Trekking & Homestays has a team of trained English-speaking ethnic minority guides. Our team of expert English-speaking ethnic minority guides has years of experience and will lead you through Sapa's famous terraced rice fields, past waterfalls and mountains, to authentic homestays where you will be welcomed by local families and experience what traditional life here is like. We have a wide range of itineraries to satisfy all of your requirements, from half-day and one-day tours of nearby villages, market tours and mountain climbing, to weeklong adventures of north-west Vietnam. We love Sapa and want it to be the highlight of your holiday.
That’s not the only thing unique about us. We are also the only not-for-profit tour operator in Sapa, which means that after covering our costs all the money you spend is going to support our community. Sapa O’Chau is a leading social enterprise in Vietnam and tours are our main source of income instead of depending on donations. You and our high profile international partners are helping to change tourism into a more ethical, responsible and sustainable industry.
Our guests “Come to Sapa and leave more than just footprints…”
