More good news from Red Dao Herbal Bath Service in Sai Duan village

• The Phin Ngan People’s Committee held a formal meeting in Sai Duan village to announce a policy made by the Lao Cai People’s Committee to implement a model for community security and self-governance by villagers which was organized on October 13, 2020. There were more than 100 delegates who are officers from provincial, district, communal levels and the village representatives attended. On this occasion, the Sai Duan Herbal Bath Team served 20 guests who were very interested in taking the Red Dao herbal baths. Accordingly, the customers highly appreciated the special quality of the Red Dao bath service in Sai Duan. The bath was mixed with different natural herbal medicinal plants of the Red Dao healers. It was natural feeling, fresh and enjoying in a beautiful forest environment.

  
  Performance of the Sai Duan community service team
   

  From 2017-2018, CIRUM has provided advice and support to develop a Community Herbal Bath Service which is owned by the Sai Duan Red Dzao villagers. The model is to preserve the Red Dao ethnic identity, to maintain, protect and develop the available medicinal plants under the community forest canopy. Along with the support of the local government, the villagers have joined together to contribute to building facilities for the service team to operate.
   

  
  Local materials are used for the community service area

  
  The service team members have creatively prioritized the use of local materials to decorate the service spaces and to make items such as tables, chairs and bamboo drinking cups. This is also a way to introduce local products, traditional craftsmanship and skills of local people.
   

  
  Visitors coming from CARE International in Laos visited Sai Duan in November 2019
  

  
  

  From 2019 to October 2020, the Sai Duan service team welcomed 30 visiting groups with more than 500 turns of visitors. Most of the visitors coming here are local officials and people in Lao Cai province.
  
  

  
  Paddy rice terraces become favorite sites for visitors

  
  

  In addition to domestic guests, some guests from Australia and Laos came to Sai Duan. They had time to relax at the service space, to exchange music and dance performance, visit the local landscape, terraced rice fields, forests and get experiences in cultivation of Amomum longiligulare under the forest canopy.
  
  

  (News and the first two updated photos were provided by Mr. Chao A Phin, an officer of Phin Ngan commune).