The pioneer who brought the cinnamon tree of Vien Son far and wide

Mr. Tran Van Chang with organic cinnamon products ready for sale.

Over a cup of green tea, Tran Van Chang recalls his childhood when he went with his parents to the fields to plant, weed, and peel cinnamon, making his legs, used to climbing mountains, stronger and his hands, used to holding knives, calloused.

Born in 1969, at the age of 20, Mr. Chang joined the military service, stationed at Ap Bac Military School (now Regiment 121 under the Lao Cai Provincial Military Command). His military career trained him in discipline and political courage. Through the challenges, he was honored to be admitted to the Party while in the army; and he was also happy that the military nurse Nguyen Thi Hau, who was also in the unit, agreed to marry him right after leaving the army.

After completing their duty and returning to their hometown, the couple worked hard to make a living. The bare hills and vacant land were gradually covered with green cinnamon trees thanks to the savings from selling cinnamon hills during harvest time. Instead of buying a car or building a house like other households, Mr. Chang focused on buying more cinnamon hills around. Now his family has more than 20 hectares, including several hectares of cinnamon trees that are more than 20 years old.

In 2015, with the thought that cinnamon products need a stable market and not to be forced down by traders, Mr. Chang was invited to be a local organic cinnamon purchasing agent for Son Ha Spices Co., Ltd., specializing in the production, processing, and export of cinnamon products to EU countries and the US. Faced with the new requirements of organic cinnamon products, which require strict management from seeds, care, and harvesting according to European standards, Mr. Chang established the Chang Que Cooperative with seven members and 39 Dao ethnic members in the village, initially with 343 hectares of cinnamon. After expanding the area of organic cinnamon cultivation, up to now, there have been 57 households participating, with a management area of more than 475 hectares, creating a sustainable raw material area, with products of good quality essential oils, meeting export standards.

According to Khe Dua village Party Secretary Dang Ton Nhi, cinnamon trees were previously planted spontaneously. When young couples moved out, their parents gave them a cinnamon hill as a "dowry", which was a good custom of the Dao people here. In 1960, Vien Son commune (old) had two cooperatives, Cong Tam and Cong Luc, specializing in cinnamon, which were the backbone for developing cinnamon trees in the highlands. In 1970, Vien Son launched the "Cinnamon hill in memory of Uncle Ho" movement to commemorate Uncle Ho and encourage people to develop cinnamon planting. Up to now, the whole Xuan Ai area has more than 7,000 hectares of cinnamon, many cinnamon hills are more than 20 years old, worth billions of dong.

With an area of 20 hectares of cinnamon trees from 3 to 20 years old, Tran Van Chang's family has not used pesticides or fertilizers for a long time. He said that because the soil here is good, every time they plant, they just need to clear the grass and burn it, then plant cinnamon, the trees just grow like that, only needing to clear the grass twice a year. Regarding the exploitation process, after peeling cinnamon from the hill, they must dry it on a high rack or clean yard, not near areas with chemical fertilizers, chemical drugs, or pesticides. The production of safe, organic cinnamon will have a stable selling price and be one to two prices higher than regular cinnamon. In 2024, Chang Que Cooperative brought nearly 400 tons of cinnamon bark to the market, with a selling price of 52,000 VND/kg, earning more than 20 billion VND, helping members have a comfortable life.

Vice Chairman of Xuan Ai Commune People's Committee Hoang Xuan Hung assessed that Tran Van Chang is an exemplary party member, daring to think, daring to do, daring to take responsibility before the people, and getting rich legitimately. He has mobilized and joined the members of the commune to participate in the organic cinnamon program in a sustainable manner, the products are all consumed well and have prestige in the market. This is a bright spot that needs to be replicated throughout the region, because currently the commune has only more than 2,000 hectares of organic cinnamon, striving to have 4,000 hectares of organic cinnamon by 2030 to attract investment, build deep processing facilities, and increase the export value of cinnamon trees.

Article and photos: THANH SON

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nguoi-tien-phong-dua-cay-que-vien-son-vuon-xa-post907765.html