Lau Gin Tong, from hardship to a bright spot in poverty reduction

TPO - After the merger in 2022, Lien Hoa village (locals still call it Lau Gin Tong) in Dien Xa commune (Quang Ninh) has changed significantly: asphalt roads have been opened, the Tien Yen chicken farming model has taken off, and community life has been improved. From a particularly difficult area of ​​Tien Yen district (old), this place is becoming a living example of poverty reduction based on infrastructure, livelihoods and village solidarity.

A difficult time

In a bungalow at the foot of the hill, Village Chief Trieu Tien Sau vividly remembers the difficult life of the whole village: when it was still called Lau Gin Tong, this place was 100% ethnic minority (mainly Dao people), living in poverty, waiting for subsidies. The main road of more than 3km only needed a rainstorm to turn into a muddy stream. “On rainy days, almost no one left the house, the children also took a day off from school. So we had to 'hap tiu' (drinking alcohol - Dao language). When the rain stopped, we went to work, some went to the forest to collect forest products, some went to work to cut acacia trees for hire... to get through the day and month,” Mr. Sau said.

The former muddy main road has now been replaced by a clean, beautiful, and spacious asphalt road.

Mr. Chieu Chan Say, 72 years old, born and raised here, mentioned the uncertainty of a single rice crop each year, "depending on God": the sun can dry up, the erratic rain and flood can wash away the whole season's efforts. Meals are meager around wild bamboo shoots and wild vegetables; the mud-walled, thatched-roof houses are not enough to protect against the biting cold of winter and the sweltering heat of summer. Many children drop out of school early to follow their parents to the fields and the forest to find something to sell. Common diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, and malnutrition still lurk; when seriously ill, people have to travel dozens of kilometers through the forest to reach the hospital.

Despite the hardships, the love of the village and the neighborhood never runs out. The Dao, Tay, and San Chi people gather around the fire, share meals, help each other with the crops, maintain the graceful Soong Co rhythm in the night, the sound of the Tinh lute, and the stories passed down from their ancestors – a “halfway” culture that connects people to the land, helping the village stand firm through years of hardship.

The turning point came in the past few years. The muddy dirt road has now become a smooth asphalt road; concrete roads lead to the gates of each house. On both sides of the road are lush green rice fields, lush corn fields, interspersed with neat tiled roofs. The village customs are also different: the roads and the grounds of the cultural house are kept green - clean - beautiful; the village mobilized people to register 32 standard trash cans, placed appropriately to ensure aesthetics; "Green Sunday" is maintained periodically once a month. In 2022 and 2023, Lien Hoa participated in the "model road" competition and won second prize at the district level, a reward for a persistent process of improving lifestyle.

Mr. and Mrs. Chac Sang Son take care of the cinnamon forest with bright smiles.

“The village has long been out of the particularly difficult situation, but the people still receive attention from the Party Committee, the government, and the Fatherland Front. In the past 5 years, the face of the new countryside has changed completely. There are roads, order, and people are enthusiastic about doing business,” said Party cell secretary and village head Trieu Tien Sau.

Livelihood breakthrough with native chicken breeds

In the hot noon, Mr. Sau drove us to the hill of Mr. Chac Sang Son and Ms. Chieu Sam Mui, Dao people in Lien Hoa. From a life of poverty, the family has now become a well-off household with 9.6 hectares of acacia and cinnamon. The Tien Yen chicken flock of about 500 chickens, which are regularly raised on the hill, also brings in a stable income of not less than 400 million VND/year. Supported by the province's production development support mechanisms and policies, since 2023, Mr. Son has boldly invested in the Tien Yen chicken farm, at times raising up to a thousand chickens.

The influence of one pioneering household has led many households to follow suit. The Tien Yen chicken farming model has appeared more and more. Training classes on farming techniques have been regularly attended by people. Some families combine raising goats and pigs. If a decade ago, earning hundreds of millions of VND per year was "unimaginable", now, "pocketing" several hundred million VND per year is no longer a rare thing in Lau Gin Tong.

Ms. Chieu Sam Mui introduces her family's Tien Yen chicken farming model.

The story in Lau Gin Tong shows that poverty reduction does not come overnight, and it is even more impossible to rely on just one resource. Here, the asphalt road not only cuts through the mud but also opens up trade. Community discipline from keeping the road clean to sorting and collecting garbage creates the foundation for a civilized living space. As for livelihoods, we must rely on local advantages. Tien Yen chicken, a specialty breed of the region, when invested in the direction of farms, combined with breeding techniques, has become a "lever" to help households have a stable cash flow, accumulated to reinvest in acacia and cinnamon forests.

What is worth mentioning is the change in habits: from “drinking and waiting for the rain to stop” to a work schedule related to the season and veterinary schedule. From being afraid to go out in the rain and mud to proactively clearing roads and taking care of the alleys. From “doing it for the sake of it” to learning techniques and calculating efficiency. It is these new habits that help the results not “fluctuate” with the weather, but become more durable over time.

“Now, the roads are clear, children go to school regularly, and adults work hard. People look at each other and work. If one family raises chickens well, another family will learn how to build coops and vaccinate properly. There is something to learn, something to sell,” Mr. Chieu Chan Say smiled.

Lau Gin Tong today wears a new coat but the old love is still there: the sound of the Tinh zither, the Soong Co melody, the stories of grandparents still echo in the night. Between the asphalt and the acacia hills, between the chicken coop and the cornfield, a village that once struggled through the rainy season has found a different pace: more certain, more confident, and most importantly, knowing how to rely on each other to move forward. For Lien Hoa, poverty reduction is not just about escaping deprivation, but a transformation: from thinking to lifestyle, from infrastructure to livelihood, all are aimed at a future where children grow up firmly, in harmony with the development of their homeland Quang Ninh .

Source: https://tienphong.vn/lau-gin-tong-tu-gian-kho-den-diem-sang-giam-ngheo-post1778362.tpo