About Sapa Sisters
We’re Hmong trekking guides from Mung Hoa Valley, near the town Sapa. We grew up in these mountains and know the trails inside out. Our work is to guide people around this beautiful landscape and give them a good time.
We are the only Female and Hmong-owned trekking company in Sapa and are proud to operate a business that ensures all of our guides a fair salary and opportunities to grow in our community. With the help of our friends, we have been able to create businesses that can support ourselves and our families but also ensure long-term employment and security
How it all Started
Sapa Sisters was started in 2009 by six friends: Radek Stypczynski, a painter and visual artist from Poland/Sweden, Ylva Landoff Lindberg www.ylvalandofflindberg.com, also an artist, with four Hmong women Lang Yan, Lang Do, Chi, and Zao. Radek, having seen and heard firsthand the difficulties of young Hmong women, in particular, finding decent jobs and wages in Sapa began collaborating with the Girls on a venture that could be self-sustaining and operated almost entirely independent of outside assistance.
The idea was simple: a Trekking company operated by the girls with no middle-man i.e. tourist operators or hotels; Radek would set up a website that could connect travelers with their guides as well as help communicate between travelers and guides as the women could not read or write English.
Radek tragically passed away in 2011, but his vision and mission, along with the founders of Sapa Sisters, continue to flourish. This Hmong-owned business remains dedicated to empowering the Sisters by providing a safe, self-sustained space to work and live. Since Radek’s passing, Ylva Landoff Lindberg and the Sapa Sisters team have kept the business growing by creating personalized trekking experiences for travelers in Vietnam’s northern mountains.
