Rain Falls Over Rice Patties - Life in Northern Vietnam
This piece is the first instalment in ‘Sustainability in Southeast Asia’ - an observational series giving glimpses into the culture, sustainability and life around Southeast Asia.
In 2017, GCNZ’s Creative Director Ari Brunet travelled through Southeast Asia. In this blog, she shares her experiences in Sa Pa, Northern Vietnam, a small region known for its hills and peaceful way of life.
Let me set the scene - misty mountaintops, green terraces, light rainfall, lush jungle. Welcome to the Northern Vietnamese town of Sa Pa, a dreamy place where the hills are filled with rice patties. After staying in a French-inspired mountain hotel, we met our beautiful tour guides, who were women of the Flower Hmong Tribe.
Culture
There are many different ethnic groups in Northern Vietnam, including the Dao, Xa Pho, Tay and Hmong people. Among the Hmong there are different sub-groups, each known for their unique dialects, symbols and clothing. The Flower Hmong people are known for their floral, rainbow-embroidered clothing.
Sustainability
Exploring Vietnam, it struck me how these people live such simple lives, filled with immeasurable beauty. They grow a significant amount of their own food on these lush green hills, that frankly look like a dreamland. They make their own clothes, with far more care, love and creativity than any mass-produced fast fashion we buy in Western countries.
They definitely do not follow intensive agricultural farming practices like in New Zealand with livestock crammed into fields. Instead, it’s more like a permaculture model, with many different animals free to roam. A lot of the nearby mountains have National Park protected status, which is fantastic to see for conservation efforts.
Hardly anyone drives a car in this mountainous region. There are many buses operating over Vietnam for long-distance travel, particularly for tourists. The most common thing is to ride a moped or a motorbike, which is definitely more carbon-friendly than driving all the time!
The Area
Sa Pa is home to the highest point in Vietnam. The peak, Mount Fansipan, is known as ‘the Roof of Indochina’ as it is the tallest point across Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. On motorbikes, the road to Heaven’s Gate was an amazing experience. Thankfully there are hardly any cars around here, just the open roads, mountains and sky. I’ve never felt so free.
Overall, my time in Sa Pa was crazy inspiring. It made me wish New Zealand roads were less crowded, and that I could drive an electric motorbike everywhere. I wished we could make more of our own clothes locally (yes to embroidery), that we grew more of our own food, and had more free range animals. Travelling is such a great way to experience the world, other cultures, and see how we can live sustainably by gaining inspiration from the most sustainable places in the world.