When volunteering for the Japanese International Cooperation Agency(JICA), two Japanese girls fell in love with the ancient uniquearchitecture in Duong Lam village.

Yamaguchi Yoriko and InoueAiko work as technical advisors for preserving and restoring ancientarchitectural works in Duong Lam village, which is Vietnam ’snational relics.

After living with the villagers for nearly twoyears, Yoriko feels the Vietnamese spirit from the village’s banyantrees, wharf and old houses and has fallen in love with this land.

Meanwhile,Aiko has turned into a country girl, following the farmers to thefields to harvest rice and corn. She is also always ready to work as atourist guide and an interpreter and even prepare meals for guests.

As they are so close to the villagers, they show the Duong Lam villagers how to balance tourism, preservation and development.

Accordingto Aiko, Duong Lam’s attraction is not only in the beauty of itsancient houses, but also because it has preserved the atmosphere andfeel of a Vietnamese village.

Ha Nguyen Huyen, the owner of a160-year-old house and the first local person to open his house tovisitors, said volunteers like Yoriko and Aiko have helped Duong Lamvillagers to know the value of their houses and their home village.

Moreover,JICA-funded projects have helped people in Duong Lam to develop tourismon a sustainable basis and improve their living conditions.

Located60km far from Hanoi city centre, Duong Lam village is the onlyplace to have an undamaged collection of an ancient Vietnamese village.

Thevillage has nearly 1,000 traditional houses. Of them, about 30 are over200 years old and a few of them were built over 400 years ago./.