New vitality in remote villages

24 houses are nestled along the winding road along the green hills of the mountains and forests. Once scattered along the high mountain ranges, many generations living by the light of oil lamps, now the Dao people have come down from the mountains to Da Can (Huong Can commune, Thanh Son district) to gather into villages to build a prosperous and happy life. The remote village has been brought back to life with new vitality and peace thanks to the attention of the Party, the State and the efforts of each person.

From raising goats, Mr. Duong Trung Minh's family earns about 30,000,000 VND each year.

If in the past, Da Can had many things that were not there: no roads, no electricity, no mobile phone signals; residents lived in a "recess" of the locality in terms of socio -economic development; agricultural practices were heavily self-sufficient... Then in recent years, with the attention, investment, and synchronous support of the Party and State with many programs and projects such as: Program 135, Economic Development Program for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas (abbreviated as National Target Program 1719) along with the determination and efforts of the people to overcome difficulties, they have gradually created positive changes, life has been increasingly improved and enhanced...

Head of the area Trieu Thi Chuyen said: “In the past, every time there was a shortage of crops, the villagers would go hungry because they did not know how to grow high-yield rice varieties or apply science and technology to production. Now, people have boldly converted crops and livestock to suit the soil conditions and applied advances in science and technology to agricultural cultivation. Thanks to that, production has many advantages, productivity and economic efficiency from crops increase every year, and people's quality of life has improved. The villagers do not go into the forest to cut trees but participate in forest management and protection. Children of school age can go to school, 100% have health insurance cards for health care. Up to now, the area has 10 poor households, no more hungry households.”

Today, Da Can has a car road running all the way to the village. The national grid has been brought in, dispelling the gloomy darkness when night falls. There is electricity, roads, internet and people who are trying to change their thinking and working methods, grasping scientific and technical advances to apply in production; seeing good models and effective methods of other localities to follow. With a stable water source from Can stream, people are intensively increasing crops, alternating between rice and corn cultivation, raising goats, cows, pigs, chickens and planting production forests, gradually abandoning the habit of clearing forests for slash-and-burn farming.

In the past, people in Da Can were used to the practice of letting their livestock roam freely, but now the villagers know how to raise livestock for commercial purposes. Typically, Mr. Ly Van Lich and Duong Trung Minh's family each raise over 20 goats. Mr. Duong Trung Minh's herd of 20 goats is ready for sale, each weighing about 10-13kg, at a price of 130,000 VND/kg. In addition to raising goats, Mr. Minh is also raising 15 peach-cheeked bamboo rats and 6 pairs of breeding bamboo rats. Thanks to changing farming practices, the village's livestock and poultry are growing day by day, contributing to increasing income for families.

Mr. Minh's family raises bamboo rats for breeding for a stable income.

Going deeper into the village, we came across spacious houses hidden in the green of acacia and bodhi trees that were ready to be harvested. Quickly turning over the sesame plants drying in the front yard, Ms. Phung Thi Lien said: Last corn crop, I harvested hundreds of bags. The corn variety is new, so each grain is plump and has a beautiful, shiny yellow color. I use part of this corn to raise chickens, geese, ducks, pigs...

Questioning about the name Da Can, Head of the area Trieu Thi Chuyen shared: The village was formed in the 80s of the 20th century by a number of Dao families who went to reclaim land along the stream and arrived here, saw the fertile land, planted axes to build camps, settled down according to the Party and State's policies. I heard my parents tell me that, to have water for daily life, households dug wells to get water, but the more they dug, the more they couldn't find water, only rocks, so from then on the villagers called it Da Can. Production water all depends on rainwater. Domestic water, villagers bring down from Tu Tinh mountain. Water pipes, centralized water works, water tanks to households are all invested by the State according to support programs and projects. People in the village who have needs will be trained in free jobs according to ethnic policies such as animal husbandry, farming, veterinary medicine, sewing... Households are supported with seeds, capital, fertilizers...

People's awareness has had many positive changes. Backward farming practices have gradually been replaced by intensive farming methods, increasing crops, and introducing new varieties. If in the past, each sao of rice was planted with only 3 bags, now the new varieties are planted with 5 bags. 1kg of corn seeds has doubled in yield to 15 bags. Some young people of working age have left their hometowns to work as workers at Hoang Xa Industrial Park, or gone to work far away with quite high incomes. In the past, there were still households that did not want to escape poverty, but now, people voluntarily register to strive to escape poverty, proactively striving to build a prosperous life.

Saying goodbye to Dat Can, as the afternoon sun gradually set behind Can Mountain, the distant sound of buffalo gongs leading people back to the barn echoed. Inside the red-hot kitchens, we returned downstream, bringing with us the joy of our fellow countrymen as they witnessed the distant villages bursting into new life.

Thuy Hang

Source: https://baophutho.vn/suc-song-moi-noi-ban-xa-218228.htm