Nam So flourishes

Nam So - the only highland village of Muong Khoa commune, Tan Uyen district, Lai Chau province with 100% of the population being Lao ethnic people. In recent years, with the attention of the Party and State, the economic , cultural and social life in Nam So has had many positive changes.

Muong Khoa Commune today.

Perhaps, according to the Village Chief, who is also the Party Secretary of Nam So Village, Lo Van Doi, the biggest change of the Lao people in Nam So is that the village and neighborhood ties are increasingly close, and the solidarity in the community is increasingly strong. The proof of this is that after the Village Chief made a phone call to inform guests that there were visitors coming to the village to inquire, only ten minutes later, from the elderly, women and children, dressed up in scarves, they were present at the cultural house to welcome guests with bright smiles.

The Cultural House of Nam So village is very special, the stilt house was built at the beginning of the village, in the middle of the immense rice fields. The yard is large, airy, beautiful, without a roof but enough for the whole village to meet, do activities, sing, dance, play drums, play gongs. This is also where the policies, guidelines, laws of the Party and the State reach the people in the most complete and comprehensive way.

Tea trees bring a stable source of income to Nam So people.

Previously, when there was no cultural house for activities, all activities of the village were usually concentrated at the village chief's house. When there was a policy to build a cultural house, everyone eagerly awaited to have a common space for activities. Therefore, the villagers fully supported the policy of building a cultural house, participated in donating land, contributing labor, and speeding up the progress.

After a period of construction, the village cultural house was inaugurated, along with a solid internal traffic system. This result was achieved thanks to the close leadership and direction of the commune and village, the unanimous contribution of hundreds of working days and the donation of more than 2,000 square meters of land by the people to build the internal road.

Lao ethnic women weave and sew traditional costumes for their families.

Ms. Lo Thi Ban, Head of the Nam So Village Art Team, said: “Nam So Village has now established an Art Team with 15 members as the core force. Every day, we are taught by the elders the traditional cultural values ​​of our people to preserve and develop.”

For a long time, Nam So land has been famous for Shan Tuyet tea, a delicious tea, suitable for the soil and climate here. Thanks to convenient transportation, when harvesting, people from Than Uyen Tea Joint Stock Company come to buy tea buds right at the beginning of the field. With a stable amount of tea buds, it brings a significant monthly income to Nam So people.

In the village, many households have high income from tea trees, typically Mr. Lo Van Mai's household, each year, the income from fresh tea buds brings his family about 150 million VND.

Flower dance of Lao ethnic women, Muong Khoa commune, Tan Uyen district, Lai Chau province.

Recently, Nam So people have planted an additional 54 hectares of Kim Tuyen tea variety with the hope that tea will become a key crop in poverty reduction, economic development, and the main source of income for Nam So people.

Secretary of the Muong Khoa Commune Party Committee Truong Thanh Hieu shared: “Along with many programs and projects to help people eliminate hunger and reduce poverty being implemented synchronously, the economic and social life of ethnic minorities has had many significant changes; the average income per capita of Nam So reached more than 45 million VND/person/year; currently there are no more hungry households, the poverty rate has decreased year by year with an average decrease of 5%/year. Lao people in Nam So today know how to apply science and technology to livestock and farming, many families have food and savings, and have risen out of poverty...”.

Ha Minh Hung/Ethnicity and Development Newspaper

Source: https://baophutho.vn/nam-so-khoi-sac-216110.htm