(VOVworld) – Musician Van Tuan Anh said he loves nature, modesty and especially the culture of the K’Ho ethnic minority people. He is the owner of a village called Cu Lan, which is typical of K’Ho culture. Lan Anh reports:

Tuan Anh was born in Hoi An and settled in Ho Chi Minh city. He quit university education and sold electronic products for a while to earn a living. He then changed to real estate, thanks to which he became wealthy. In 2000, Tuan Anh was on a trip to Da Lat and quickly fell in love with the forests and villages of the K’Ho people. He spent his savings to buy abandoned fields to build a romantic and tranquil village, typical of the K’Ho culture. The locals helped him a lot in the building of the village, Tuan Anh said: “I would not have done anything without their support. They erected this Neu pole and built this Rong house. The patterns of the indigenous people inspired me to design the windows. The locals also helped to organize cultural exchanges with visitors.”

Over the last two years, Tuan Anh has turned 5,000 square meters of his 27 hectares of land in Lac Duong district into convenient accommodations. He uses the remaining land to plant forests and flowers to recreate the original space of the K’Ho traditional festivals. Tuan Anh said that following the procession of the goddess of rice in March, central highlanders often leave their village and follow their patriarch to live in a new primitive forest. They use tree leaves and barks to produce loincloths, bamboos to fish, and stone to make fire. They live there for 15-30 days and then return to their village. Tuan Anh explained: “The K’Ho live 11 months in real life and spend 1 month to return to their origin. This month is called Ninh Nong. This custom has fallen into oblivion for approximately 50 years. I’ve been researching and want to resume this activity in Cu Lan village, which will include the production and cuisine of the central highlanders.”

All the souvenirs on sale in Cu Lan village are made by the K’Ho which include wind chimes, wooden masks, and brocade bags. At the 2013 Da Lat Flower Festival, UNESCO Vietnam announced that Cu Lan village was one of the 10 destinations that meet the Vietnam Tourism Culture criterion. Tuan Anh said community-based tourism gives visitors beautiful memories and exciting feelings that they can share back home.           

Tuan Anh composed the song the Heart of Cu Lan to express his love and feeling for the beautiful nature and culture of the central highlands.