FIELD TRIP TO DA LAT WITH PROFESSORS FROM AICHI SHUKUTOKU UNIVERSITY
, 29/01/2016 11:01
From 24-27 February, 2015, the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies, together with Prof. Seiko Ono and Prof. Bui Chi Trung from the Aichi Shukutoku (Japan), had a field trip to the K’hor ethnic community in Da Lat.
The group paid a visit to a site manufacturing K’hor-branded coffee established by Josh Guikema, who is a US tourist to Vietnam and then got married to Rolan CoLieng – a woman with K’hor identity. Thanks to his love of and close ties with the locality, he and his wife were able to create that coffee brand.
Like Josh, another American named James Reelick came and opened a pizza restaurant called K’be’s in the K’hor neighborhood. Also, he suggested that the local authority set up and organize shows that highlight the typical culture. Thanks to his suggestion, the local people and authority wish to build community houses for gong performances.
Besides, some foreigners suggested that local people build cottages along the edges of forests in order to develop eco-tourism in which travelers can experience a close relationship with nature.
Those are examples of the closeness between foreigners and local people in general, and the K’hor ethnic group in particular. The research group was greatly impressed with those stories and hoped that foreign travelers’ love would grow and spread to other regions.
Visitors to the village were also surprised to see that some Australians took photos and gave introduction of K’hor people. It is thanks to their love and enthusiasm for ethnic minorities, those foreigners were able to implement many successful programs, which helped the local people develop by their own efforts.
Through the field trip, Prof. Bui Chi Trung hoped that the HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities would carry out some exchange programs so that Japanese students could have opportunities to come to Vietnam and learn Vietnamese as well as getting more understanding of the country’s economics and culture. The professor also wished to grant fund to the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies for its research on Cham people’s culture and their remains. That will contribute to further strengthening the cultural relationship between Vietnam and Japan.

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