Building Bridges: How C4C Partnered with Planeterra to Empower Women through Community Tourism

Writer: Noah Lukas Le & Thao Vo

Written on: May 15th 2025

At Catalyst for Change Vietnam, we believe that real transformation begins with connection—between people, between communities, and between shared values. In 2024, one such connection became a pivotal milestone in our journey: the beginning of a partnership with Planeterra, the world’s leading nonprofit organization using travel as a force for community empowerment.

Through this collaboration, HerKitchen — an initiative under The Empowerment Plan (TEP) - took a major step forward. What began as a local initiative became a globally recognized, women-led community tourism experience rooted in healing, heritage, storytelling, and intercultural exchange.

The C4C x Planeterra partnership centers on HerKitchen. This program works with single mothers and women from marginalized backgrounds, offering culinary arts and storytelling training. The aim is to equip these women not only with income-generating skills, but also with the confidence to reclaim their narratives and share their lived experiences with the world.

Our HerKitchen women with our international volunteer

This opportunity was driven by the dedication of two coworkers who helped bring the vision to life. Thảo, Project Lead at C4C, mentors the women of HerKitchen with empathy and insight, ensuring their voices remain central in every decision. Noah Lukas Le, an international volunteer, did the research, partnership and outreach process to join Planeterra’s Global Community Tourism Network. Together, Thảo and Noah aligned HerKitchen’s mission with Planeterra’s values—local ownership, sustainable impact, women-led leadership, and authentic community storytelling.

Reflecting on the early stages of this transformative collaboration, Noah recalls how the connection began. “I was researching community tourism models, and Planeterra immediately stood out. Their track record with women-led initiatives aligned beautifully with HerKitchen. We had to try.” From there, the first steps were taken to build the foundation for what would become a powerful partnership. Thảo explains, “We had to prove that we were ready. That meant developing a detailed experience plan, documenting the voices and journeys of the women involved, and clearly mapping out the social impact we were already making.”

Certificate of "Become A Community Impact Partner" C4C x Planeterra

Joining the Global Community Tourism Network was more than just submitting an application—it was a journey of learning, capacity building, and values alignment. After a meeting with Sanya from Planeterra to get to know each other, we began by writing and refining an experience framework that clearly captured HerKitchen’s mission, methods, and visitor offerings. This was followed by several review calls and mentorship sessions with Planeterra’s global team. Throughout the process, C4C demonstrated strong alignment with Planeterra’s pillars: sustainability, inclusion, local ownership, and storytelling as a tool for transformation.

As Thảo reflects, “Working with Planeterra was not just about visibility or funding—it was about building something lasting. They really see the people behind the project.”

The Planeterra partnership opens up a range of exciting opportunities for HerKitchen and the women behind it. It provides access to expert training on experience design and social enterprise development, helping women refine their roles as chefs, facilitators, and storytellers. It also connects HerKitchen to a trusted global tourism network, increasing visibility to socially conscious travelers and ethical tour operators. Through this platform, HerKitchen is positioned to access long-term market opportunities and build a stable income stream for women artisans and facilitators. Just as importantly, it brings international recognition to HerKitchen as a model of sustainable, women-led tourism in Vietnam.

The journey doesn’t end here. With Planeterra’s support, C4C is preparing to pilot new HerKitchen experiences for travelers, volunteers, and ethical tour partners in Hội An. The team will deliver advanced training in storytelling, food-as-medicine, and guest facilitation for women chefs, and launch a new series of cultural exchange workshops highlighting Vietnamese heritage, healing foods, and handmade crafts. In addition, C4C will continue sharing their learnings with the wider Global Community Tourism Network to help uplift other grassroots initiatives around the world.

This partnership is more than a project—it’s a bridge. One that connects local voices with global audiences, resilience with recognition, and grassroots realities with international solidarity. We are deeply thankful to Planeterra for believing in HerKitchen —and more importantly, for believing in the transformative power of women when given the tools, training, and trust to lead.