The document describes a community-based tourism tour along the old Dhammazedi Road in Myanmar. The full-day tour involves biking through rural villages and paddy fields, visiting a local monastery and school, and having lunch with a host family in Htee Tan village. The tour aims to provide income and opportunities for rural communities while giving visitors insight into traditional village life. The organizer hopes to increase bookings to support communities year-round and expand community-based tourism across Myanmar.

1. GREEN SEASON TRAVEL

2. PROJECT OVERVIEW
• Min-ga-lar-bar. Good morning ladies and gentleman.
• I’m delighted to present a village life along the old Dhammazedi Road
tour.
• This tour is designed based on community services . I got an idea to
introduce this tour around 2014 and it‘s been launched successfully
since then. By 2015, BIF (Business Innnovation Facility) funded UK Aid
invited agents to compete with their innovative ideal products, and we
particiated and won the PPIC (Product and Package Innovation
Competition 2015).
• People here are living on farming, and on agriculture and some
homemade products such as seasonal fruit jams, bronze lighter maker
for over 30 years, as well as by doing as motor bike taxi driver and boat
man.
• This tour is very suitable for those need physical exercise after long
week working in the office, who are not interested in pagodas and
temples, people who are interested to see the villages, people life and
real countryside of Myanmar. Very easy to do a day trip outside of
Yangon and accessibilty is easy and we hope this can also attract
domestic travellers. Biking is main highlight through paddy fields,
village and beautiful landscape.

3. Village life along the Old
Dhammazedi Road, Full day
An exciting day is ahead of us as we’re going to follow parts of the old Dhammazedi Road
(used by former Bago kings to visit the Shwedagon Pagoda) and meet countryside
communities, from farmers to village teachers. From Yangon (or from Bago) we drive in
about 2 hours towards Kawa where mountain bikes are ready for a trip through the
country side to Ohn Ne. The bike trip is about 2.5 hours (29 km), partly unpaved, all flat
road. We visit the beautiful monastery and continue by car to Thakala. Our host family is
waiting for us in this small town to accompany us by bike, boat, motorbike or on foot (45
min) ‐ depending on the season and the path conditions ‐ to their community. Htee Tan
village is a traditional village showcasing typical life: it has a village pond where water is
collected during the raining season so the villagers have water to drink, wash, and cook
during the dry season. There is a village school, a monastery that serves as a community
centre, there is no electricity, no running water or even wells. A quiet community where
people have been living for ages and stay together in good times and bad times. A family
style lunch awaits us, followed by a stroll around the town. In the afternoon we continue
by car towards Thongwa to visit the lively market before crossing the river and arrive in
downtown Yangon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPQUH5mY0c0&t=58s

4. To watch short video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPQUH5mY
0c0&t=58s

5. Boat man

6. Motorbike Taxi

7. Big group

8. BIF inspection before award giving

9. Why this community?
I was born in one of the villages here in Kawa Township,
which is situated between Yangon and Bago. As a native of
this region, I’d like to be proud of presenting my native
region to the visitors. I really wanto help for the people
here to be exposed being in touch with foreigners, gained
knowledge sharing, getting tourism services related jobs,
chnaces to sell locally made products and sometimes we
organise an English speaking session to the young students
from my village, so that they can learn English and also not
to be shocked when they meet white people (foreign
visitors). At the same time visitors can experience the
simplest, friendiliness and hospitality of the people.

10. Community consultation /
involvement methods
We met with communities and explained what is
tourism, what the visitors like to see and what benefits
come from tourism and how they can participate in the
service industry and etc. Now there are nearly 10 – 15
people getting jobs from this tour as well as village
school is sometimes receiving contribution from the
vsitors like books, pen and stationaries for the students.
Also my village is facing water shortage every year in the
summer time, now it’s been solved as Khiri Travel and my
uncle has donated a well. It’s really helpful for the village.
No more water shortage problem!!! It’s win-win
situation, our customers are happy to visit here and our
communities are happy too.

11. Challenges and issues
• At the begining, we’re thinking by train to Kyauk
Tan village, but the train is not operating regularly,
then we forgot about it.
• Bike house do not want to keep the bikes, do not
want to maintain etc. Finally it worked out.
• One more thing now is the police station in
Thakala is checking with village headman when
we are late sometimes out of the timing, and
whether the foreigners will be staying at the
village or etc. We will sit down with them and sort
it out.

12. What do you hope to achieve in
the next two years?
• This village life along the Old Dhammazedi Road tour is getting just a
few bookings per month at the moment. So communities can not fully
rely on the tourism. The still have to do other things such as farming,
fishing and etc. If this product widespread and getting more awareness
from the visitors and agents and through our CBT network, hopefully
we will get more bookings and communities here will get enough jobs.
They will get extra income from the tourism secotrs and their lives will
be better and enhanced. I wish next two years we’ll be able to send at
least a booking per day and the communities here get the jobs for the
year round.
• I‘ll try my best every effort I can for my native region and communities.
• I hope more and more community based tourism prodcuts lirke this
will be running throughout Myanmar, especially to the least developing
areas where have some tourists’ attractions.

13. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!
To attend CBT conferences and meeting and for
more information, please see below contact
information.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Barbara Schott schott.barbara@gmail.com
Andrea Valentin andreavalentin77@gmail.com
www.tourismtransparency.org

14. For a village life along the Old
Dhammazedi road, Full day
(CBT Tour)
Please contact to:
Green Season Travel
info@greenseaon-travel.com
Phone: 01-392194
Mobile / WhatsApp: 09420016634
Skype: tagorehtetzaw
www.greenseason-travel.com