Cat Cat Village, Sapa

A couple of months ago, I got to visit Sapa.  Sapa is a mountainous region of Northern Vietnam, very close to the Chinese border.  It's popular among tourists for hiking, beauty, and meeting the native H'Mong and Zao people who inhabit the area.  On my first day in Sapa, I visited Cat Cat Village.


The native tour guides greet us outside the hotel. 

 

We walked through the rice-paddied mountains to Cat Cat Village.



Cat Cat is a humble village known locally for its hemp textiles.




This woman is spinning hemp fibers into string with her fingers.



The hemp string is woven on a simple loom.



The woven hemp cloth is dyed in a vat of indigo. 
The indigo produces a blue that is so dark, it is almost black,

giving this particular branch of H'Mong their name: The Black H'Mong.



Of course, they grow all the indigo themselves.



Cat Cat also produces snake wine.





There is a lovely water fall and river next to Cat Cat.



The local water supply is use to power this cleverly designed rice-pounding machine.  The rice is far below in an empty space cut into the side of a hill.  Water fills a vat that moves a rod up and down.  When the vat is full, it lifts the rod.  Then, the water spills from the vat and lifts back up, causing the rod to slam down and pound the rice below.





It was a muddy adventure!



Everyone goes home tired and happy.