About Nam Cang Village
Nam Cang commune is located in the most remote region of Sapa district, situated 36km (a 90′ drive) outside of Sapa town. The village is inhabited largely by Red Dzao and Black H’mong minority groups, with 267 total households and a total population of approximately 1,578 people.
Prior to 2000, nearly 80 percent of Nam Cang households lived in poverty, with food shortages frequently occurring, and 70 percent of the population was illiterate.
Nowadays, governmental efforts to support the area have generated high economic yield, such as a cardamom crop production project spanning 600 hectares. Various Topas funded initiatives have helped to improve local infrastructure and create safer spaces for the community, including constructing safe suspension bridges, paving roads, renovating existing schools and boarding houses, building classrooms and installing water tanks and garbage bins.
Your Home Away from Home
Staying at Topas Riverside Lodge is a little different from the average homestay or luxury resort experience. Here, we invite guests into Nam Cang Village to explore the quaint streets that meander around the wooden houses and family gardens. Along the way, you may see a women’s sewing circle, friendly village dogs and kittens and children on their way home from school or playing in the street.
Our lodge is built entirely from local materials, and even though it is no longer a traditional Red Dzao home, it still carries many features and characteristics that can be found throughout Nam Cang Village. The most notable is the large hearth in the kitchen where herbs picked from the surrounding jungle are hung up to dry and the three hand-carved wooden bathtubs in the Bath House. Organic vegetable and herb gardens pepper the outdoor area as well as our very own fruit trees which are invaluable in creating many of the delicious dishes you’ll see on our lunch and dinner menus.
We invite you to come and stay with us, spending your days hiking in the bamboo forests and mountain trails, cycling a circuit of rough terrain through awe-inspiring scenery, learning about the unique jobs in the village like silversmithing and herb gathering, taking an embroidery class, or simply sitting on the river deck with a book in hand, observing the local life as it goes on.
