Stilt houses of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups in Thai Hai Village, set amid lush forest landscapes, attracting visitors who enjoy a peaceful lifestyle. File photo: Minh Duc/VNA.

Thai Hai Reserve Area of Ecological Houses-on-stilts Ethnic Village (Thai Hai Village) in Tan Cuong Commune, Thai Nguyen Province, is one of only two tourism models nationwide to have been recognized as a national OCOP 5-star product with the product "Tay Cultural Tourism - Thai Hai Village”.

Thai Hai Village has 30 traditional stilt houses home to communities of the Tay, Nung, and Kinh ethnic groups. Visitors to the village can experience and immerse themselves in the richly ethnic cultural atmosphere, where all residents from young children to the elderly wear their traditional ethnic attire, and where beautiful customs, traditions, and crafts such as herbal medicine making, wine brewing, tea processing, and the practice of Then are preserved intact in daily life.

At the village, visitors can participate in activities alongside community members such as crop cultivation, livestock farming, and cake making, or immerse themselves in the spiritual and cultural activities and traditional folk festivals of the Tay and Nung peoples, such as the rice-planting festival, the new rice celebration, listening to the dan tinh instrument, the Then chant, and folk games such as tug-of-war, swing, and stilt walking...

Ms. Le Thi Nga, Deputy Head of Thai Hai Village, shared that since its opening, Thai Hai Village has been honored with numerous international and domestic awards, including the ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award in 2018 and 2022, the ASEAN Community Tourism Award for 2023-2025, and notably the title of "Best Tourism Village in the World 2022" awarded by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In January 2025, the Tay ethnic cultural tourism product of Thai Hai Village was certified as a national OCOP 5-star product...

As a result, Thai Hai Village has become widely known and has welcomed thousands of domestic visitors and international tourists from more than 30 countries and territories, helping to improve residents' livelihoods.

In La Bang Commune, Thai Nguyen Province, the land at the foot of the Tam Dao mountain range offers climate and soil conditions favorable for tea cultivation. Taking advantage of this, La Bang Tea Cooperative has pioneered safe tea production under VietGAP and organic standards across more than 22 hectares.

From this clean raw material zone, the cooperative's Dinh Tam Tra product was selected as a gift for heads of state at the 2017 APEC Conference in Da Nang; many of its products have achieved OCOP 3-4 star ratings and have been selected as national exemplary rural industrial products for many consecutive years. In particular, in early May 2026, the Thanh Hai tea product - a premium bud tea - received national OCOP 5-star certification... affirming the La Bang tea brand on the market.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai, Director of the Cooperative, shared that developing everyday agricultural products associated with community members to achieve OCOP standards has brought great value to the people. Currently, the cooperative links its OCOP products with community and agricultural tourism through tea culture experiences. Visitors are deeply impressed when they witness the process of farmers producing OCOP products, which deepens their appreciation for the product's value. As a result, they consume and promote the products for community members, generating stable income and prosperity.

According to Ms. Hai, the Cooperative currently receives 200 to 500 visitors per month. They come to experience working and eating alongside community members on the tea hills, hand-picking tea leaves, roasting tea using traditional artisan methods, packaging, and savoring its flavor. In the evenings, visitors take part in indigenous cultural activities such as campfires, listening to Then chant and dan tinh music, making lam rice (bamboo-tube rice) and local traditional sweets... all in a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Thai Hai Reserve Area of Ecological Houses-on-stilts Ethnic Village, spanning approximately 70 hectares, where more than 30 stilt houses nearly a century old are gathered and preserved. File photo: Minh Duc/VNA.

Thai Nguyen Province currently has 598 OCOP products, including 13 national 5-star products, 118 4-star products, and 467 3-star products. Assessment by the Sub-Department of Cooperative Economy and Rural Development indicates that through the OCOP program, local potentials and specialties have been awakened, contributing to the preservation of traditional crafts; production activities have gradually shifted from small-scale operations to integrated closed-loop supply chains, with concentrated raw material zones taking shape; production has been linked to rural tourism; product prices after receiving OCOP recognition have increased by 15-30%, and many products have seen revenues and profits rise tens of times over, creating sustainable livelihoods for residents.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, Head of the Sub-Department of Cooperative Economy and Rural Development of Thai Nguyen Province, said that for the 2026-2030 period, Thai Nguyen Province has determined to develop OCOP products in the direction of improving quality, depth, and sustainability, with added value, cultural identity, and market competitiveness as the central objectives.

Accordingly, the province will develop products with high competitive advantages linked to stable raw material zones, with traceability to origin, meeting increasingly high market requirements, including: tea products and tea-processed items, specialty agricultural products; medicinal herbs and traditional foods; craft village products; and products linked to community and rural tourism.

In particular, a key orientation for the province in the new period is to link OCOP product development with rural tourism development and the promotion of indigenous cultural values. OCOP products are not merely consumer goods but also convey cultural stories, local identity, and the traditional values of the community.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, Thai Nguyen Province will strengthen the role of communities in OCOP product development, promote the role of trade associations and community organizations, and encourage residents' participation in preserving and developing local characteristic products linked to the preservation of traditional crafts, indigenous knowledge, and regional cultural identity.

Alongside a focus on product quality, design, branding, and the product story, each OCOP product should express cultural identity, regional characteristics, and market differentiation... helping to enhance competitiveness and commercial value in the market.