ETHOS - Spirit of the Community

01/08/2026

We are proud to share an important new chapter for ETHOS.

This September, Pang, Ta May and Sinh will begin a thirty-month apprenticeship combining formal education, English, tourism, digital skills, practical training and long-term mentoring.

The ETHOS Apprenticeship Programme grows directly from more than twenty-five years of community-based tourism in northern Vietnam. It represents our commitment not only to creating fair local employment today, but also to supporting the young women who can help shape the future of tourism, education and community leadership in Sa Pa.

Our new article explains why we created the programme, what the apprentices will learn and why we believe this is such an important milestone for ETHOS and the communities alongside whom we work.

Read the full story: https://www.ethosspirit.com/blog/building-the-future-of-community-based-tourism-in-northern-vietnam

29/07/2026

The Sapa I First Knew: Memories from a Mountain Town in 1998

Nearly thirty years ago, I arrived in Sapa as a young environmental scientist with Frontier, helping document the biodiversity of the Hoàng Liên Mountains. I expected to spend thirteen weeks studying forests, wildlife and remote landscapes. Instead, I found lifelong friendships, unforgettable adventures and a community that would ultimately inspire the creation of ETHOS. This is the story of the Sapa I first knew; before mass tourism, when villages were connected by footpaths, Saturday markets brought mountain communities together and curiosity flowed in both directions.

Read the full story here:

🔗 www.ethosspirit.com/blog/the-sapa-i-first-knew-memories-from-a-mountain-town-in-1998

A Note About the Photographs

The photographs throughout this article were taken by Phil Hoolihan and Sean Adams during our time in Sapa in 1998. They document a remarkable period in the history of northern Vietnam and remain a deeply personal record of the people, landscapes and friendships that shaped the years which followed.

These photographs are shared here to preserve and celebrate that history. Please respect that purpose. They remain the copyright of Phil Hoolihan and Sean Adams and may not be reproduced, copied, published or used without prior written permission.

24/07/2026

The Sacred Books of the Red Dao: Ritual Manuscripts, Handmade Paper and Living Knowledge

For generations, the Red Dao people of northern Vietnam have preserved a remarkable tradition of handwritten ritual manuscripts. Created on handmade paper and passed from teacher to student, these sacred books record ceremonies, prayers, ancestral knowledge and a unique written language that continues to play an important role in community life today.

Our latest article explores how these extraordinary manuscripts are made, who can read them, how ritual masters are trained and why these living traditions remain one of the most fascinating aspects of Red Dao culture in Sa Pa.

Read the full article:

https://www.ethosspirit.com/blog/the-sacred-books-of-the-red-dao-ritual-manuscripts-handmade-paper-and-living-knowledge

02/07/2026

Portraits of the Black Hmong in Sapa

02/06/2026

Mountains of the Great North

Sapa is the best gateway for Vietnam’s great mountains. Whether you’re trekking or simply seeing, the mountains offer a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of hanoi and the other large cities.

29/05/2026

How Farmers Grow Rice in Sapa's Mountain Terraces

In Sapa, rice farming is closely tied to the rhythms of mountain life and the traditions of the region’s ethnic communities. Farmers grow rice on beautiful terraced hillsides that have been carefully carved into the landscape over many generations. At the start of the growing season, the terraces are repaired and filled with water guided down from mountain streams through small irrigation channels. The soil is then softened into mud, often with the help of water buffalo, while rice seeds are first nurtured in small nursery plots until the seedlings are ready for planting.

When the young rice plants are strong enough, farmers transplant them by hand into the flooded terraces, carefully placing each seedling in neat rows across the steep slopes. The fields demand continual attention throughout the season, with farmers managing water levels and removing weeds by hand. By early autumn, Sapa’s terraces glow golden as the rice ripens for harvest. Families gather together to cut the rice with sickles before drying and threshing the grain, continuing an agricultural tradition that has shaped life in the mountains of northern Vietnam for centuries.

In Sapa, rice farming is closely tied to the rhythms of mountain life and the traditions of the region’s ethnic communities. Farmers grow rice on beautiful t...

24/05/2026

Planting Rice by Hand in the Mountains of Sapa

On May 13th 2026, I recorded a few short clips using a mini drone and my phone to try and capture just how much work truly goes into planting rice here in the mountains of northern Vietnam. It is something many travellers admire from afar when looking across the terraces of Sapa, though standing amongst them during planting season gives an entirely different understanding of the labour, patience, and knowledge held within these landscapes.

At 54 seconds, you see a young man carefully levelling the flooded paddy fields by hand, guiding the water evenly across the earth so each terrace is prepared for planting. Then at 1 minute and 3 seconds, a Hmong woman moves slowly through the mud, transplanting every individual rice shoot one by one with extraordinary precision and rhythm. There are few machines here. There are no shortcuts. What I witnessed shows generations of lived experience carried through the body and passed quietly between families and communities.

What makes this all the more remarkable is the final shot beginning at 3 minutes and 4 seconds. The drone lifts from the bottom of the valley and follows the terraces upwards along the ridge line, revealing more than 100 terrace steps climbing steadily towards a small lodge in the distance. Seeing the scale from above only deepens my respect for the people who have shaped and maintained these mountains by hand for generations. My appreciation for this work will never dwindle.

On May 13th 2026, I recorded a few short clips using a mini drone and my phone to try and capture just how much work truly goes into planting rice here in th...

21/05/2026

Part 2 of our journey through Vietnam’s remote north-west takes us even deeper into the mountains of Lai Chau, Dien Bien Phu, and Son La, where the roads become rougher, the distances longer, and the landscapes more dramatic with every kilometre. Leaving behind the better known routes of northern Vietnam, we continue across isolated valleys, steep mountain passes, narrow trails, and remote villages where daily life still revolves around the motorbike.

The riding conditions constantly change between smooth asphalt, broken roads, gravel, mud, and river crossings, demanding full concentration and a steady pace throughout the journey. Along the way, we stay in small local homestays, meet communities rarely visited by foreign travellers, and experience a side of Vietnam that remains shaped far more by the land and weather than by tourism.

This part of the journey is less about destinations and more about the experience of travelling through one of the most rugged and least explored regions in the country, where every road feels unpredictable and every day on the bike brings something completely different. From quiet mountain roads and hidden valleys to flooded tracks and remote ferry crossings, this is adventure riding in Vietnam at its rawest and most authentic.

Part 2 of our journey through Vietnam’s remote north-west takes us even deeper into the mountains of Lai Chau, Dien Bien Phu, and Son La, where the roads bec...

20/05/2026

El Niño 2026 in Northern Vietnam: What Travellers Need to Know

Northern Vietnam may be entering one of its hottest and most unpredictable climate years in recent memory. As El Niño conditions strengthen across the Pacific, researchers and Vietnamese meteorological agencies are warning of hotter temperatures, weaker monsoon rains, longer dry periods, and increasingly erratic weather patterns across regions such as Sapa, Hà Giang, Hanoi, Ninh Bình, and Ha Long Bay.

Though El Niño often brings fewer storms to Vietnam overall, the storms that do arrive may become more intense and less predictable, particularly as climate change continues to warm oceans and amplify weather extremes. For mountain regions, this can mean dangerous landslides, road collapses, and rapidly changing trekking or motorbike conditions after short periods of intense rainfall.

In our latest blog, we explore what these changes could mean on the ground for travellers, local communities, and the landscapes we move through here in the north. We also look at why flexibility, local knowledge, and responsible travel choices matter more than ever in a changing climate.

The full blog post can be read via the link in the comments below.

20/05/2026

The great forests of Sapa

As well as the Hoang Lien Son National
park, Sapa is home to vast wooded areas. The area is known for very humid “mist forests”.

Because of the high elevation (roughly 1,000–3,000 m), the forests change with altitude:

* Lower elevations: subtropical evergreen mountain forest
* Mid elevations: temperate montane forest with oaks, maples, conifers, and dense moss
* Higher elevations: cloud forest / sub-alpine forest with dwarf trees, rhododendrons, bamboo, and heavy moss cover

Photos taken in various villages across Sapa