Sa Pa, the travel hotspot of the northwestern province of Lao Cai, will launch " Clean Up Sa Pa " drive to respond to the "Clean Up the World Weekend " campaign founded by Australian Ian Kiernan, reports the Tuoi Tre newspaper.

The third annual consecutive event in Sa Pa under the campaign will be held on September 21-22 by the social enterprise Sapa O’Chau to raise public awareness of environmental concerns and to clear local villages of rubbish.

It is expected that Sa Pa will have four villages of Cat Cat, Lao Chai, Xin Chai and Ta Van in Muong Hoa Valley, and Sa Pa Town cleaned up. In addition, over 20kms of roads in the area will also be cleared of rubbish.

Around 100 volunteers, including authorities, business partners, students and locals, will begin their community work at Sa Pa O’Chau Café at 9:00am, before moving on to the local villages. The event will end with a Thank You party for all of the participants.

" The H'mong people are taking a significant step [in adjusting to the changes taking place in the world] . They have just hooked on to the ‘Clean Up the World’ concept by organising theirs, " the " Clean Up the World " founder Kiernan says in a message quoted by the Tuoi Tre newspaper.

" Clean Up the World " encourages participants to organise an activity on or around the weekend to celebrate environmental successes from cleaning up, conserving water, planting trees, raising environmental awareness, and education initiatives.

As a social enterprise, Sapa O’Chau puts the money it earns from trekking, homestays, café, and teaching back into the community through projects such as providing winter clothes, improving village schools, and education.

The sponsors of the event include Victoria Sa Pa Resort & Spa, Topas Travel, Kenpass Vietnam, Indigo Cat, H'mong Sa Pa Hotel, Sa Pa Travelmate, TOM Travel, The H'mong Sisters Bar, Duc Minh Travel, Delta Restaurant, Vietnam My Way Travel, Le Gecko Restaurant, Chau Long Hotel, The Hill Station Restaurant, Red Dao House Restaurant, Hoang Lien National Park, and Baguette and Chocolate.-VNA