Inspirational Backstreets

Be prepared to be inspired!

As we search for unique things to do across Asia, we came across an amazing organization – the BackStreet Academy. The goal of the company is to connect travellers and tourists with local hosts who have some sort of expertise to share. Many of the hosts are traditional artisans, local farmers, fishermen etc…  Since many of them come from local villages and do not speak English, Backstreet provides an English speaking facilitator (usually university students) to help with the translation and the opportunity to interact with foreign tourists.

Each city has a variety of classes, and one can sign up to spend 2 hours, or even all day on a particular activity. Classes range from learning a traditional dance, boxing, puppet making to cooking with a local housewife!

Chopping the veggies

Preparing the coals

Once you have signed up for a class, (all done via an online booking form and email), a tuk tuk will pick you up at your hotel and bring you to the facilitator. They will then bring you to the host’s home or place of the class (since most are located in the backstreets and impossible for a tourist to find!). At the end of the session, you pay the facilitator who then gives the host their part of the funding, as well as the tuk tuk driver.

The Backstreet organization is very open about the social impact their organization can have on all the people involved. Travellers pay a fee for spending time with locals and participating in a unique experience, while the host is able to earn money and respect for their craft. The facilitators are able to save money for school and to help towards their tuition and expenses.

Making the mask molds.

Autumn festival masks

While we were in Hanoi, we decided to give Backstreet a try and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience! Not only did we enjoy ourselves doing the activities, but we also met some amazing locals who really showed us what their lives were like and the passion they had for their craft. None of our hosts spoke any English, but our facilitators were amazing and enthusiastic university students who helped ensure the activities were enjoyable and successful for all involved.

To he puppet making

To he puppets

I was lucky enough to connect with the Vietnamese coordinator of Backstreet Academy as she handled all of our course requests. She is responsible for all the Backstreet classes throughout Viet Nam and was very open with me about the academy and all that they are trying to do. I sent her some questions which she passed onto the co founder of the company. In a few days, I received a lovely email from Akash  – one of the cofounders of Backstreet.

Here is the interview:

What inspired you to create the Backstreet academy?

As avid travellers, we wanted a way to connect with amazing locals who can provide a unique and authentic experience, so in a way we built the product for ourselves. We also wanted our startup to use technology to help underprivileged people who were without access to technology and illiterate to actually take part in a marketplace which can empower them to become their own entrepreneurs, generate their own income and directly tap the tourism market.

How did you find all of the artisans throughout the country(ies)?

There are several ways we do this, first of which is, as our name suggests, we literally walk through the backstreets of all the cities, we’re in poking our noses in little workshops, souvenir shops and artist enclaves and ask a ton of questions before introducing ourselves and including them in our program. Aside from this, we also contact several NGO’s and art and craft related groups to help us get leads on various artisans around the city.

What has been the reaction from the Arts community – how many have been willing to participate in the program?

They’ve absolutely loved it. Essentially our hosts are already doing what they love so it’s just plug and play into our program with the added benefit of teaching their skills to people from all over the world and earning an additional income while they’re at it. Most importantly though, what we’ve observed across all the hosts we work with is that, in working with us their efforts receive validation from an international community and there is a renewed sense of pride in them about what they do. Essentially, in the past most of them just produced their craft and sold it to middlemen who in turn sold it in the markets, but now they get the chance to teach and sell their products directly to the tourists.

Do you see your academy expanding into other countries?

Yes, we started with one office in Kathmandu, Nepal in early 2014 and now have a presence in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and India.

How do you advertise?

Mostly online but we do have physical marketing being done by our teams in their respective cities.

How do you determine what to charge?

From the total amount charged, 40-60% goes to the host, 20-30% for transport and facilitators and we keep 15-20% as our margin.

What have been the most rewarding moments you have experienced with Backstreet Academy?

 One of our hosts in Siem Reap, Mr Poy Khet, started with only 2 seats at his little workshop, but as his classes got more and more popular, he invested in his workshops to ensure guests have a better experience. Khet is one of many hosts to invest in their activities to offer better experiences to travelers, indicating a huge acknowledgement to Backstreet Academy’s impact on the lives of local hosts.

So this was the initial setup.

Stone carving class

Small workshop

Now the set up is like this – Sarah and Graham

Backstreet Academy!

Look at how it’s grown!

We’ve had guests do several courses in a single city or two cities at the most, but in late 2014 we had a lovely couple from America do 4 courses in 4 different cities! We gave ourselves a nice pat on the back when this happened. ☺ You can see her review here. Since then we’ve had several guests who’ve visited us in multiple cities and we absolutely love it when this happens!

What have been the greatest challenges you have experienced thus far?

Having to navigate the various complexities of setting up Backstreet Academy in various developing countries has been a constant battle of innovating and adapting. And while the learning curve has been steep, we’re getting better at it with each new country/city we expand to.

What are your plans for the future of Backstreet Academy?  Where will you go from here?

 The vision of Backstreet Academy is to be a brand that people associate with trust, quality of experience and most importantly a platform where anyone can find the best experiences in any city. When travelers visit a place, we want to be there for them to find all the must dos and must sees on our platform. We are currently focused on expansions in Asia after which we the expansion is set to continue beyond Asia.

Backstreet Academy classes are currently in India, Nepal, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and Laos. We highly recommend this organization and you will see how rich and rewarding these experiences were for all of us in some upcoming posts.

Here is a short documentary on Backstreet – it’s definitely worth a watch!