Wild flowers turn poor villages into famous in Binh Dinh

In late March and early April 2024, the ancient flower population along Ta Ma stream is in full bloom. Along the stream stretching for many kilometers, the trees from tens to hundreds of years old bloom and cover the entire stream. On weekends, tourists and people from inside and outside the province flock to see the flowers, bathe in the stream, and enjoy the cuisine of the great forest.

Green, clean, beautiful scenery along Ta Ma stream during the blooming season of Trang flowers

From a plant that holds soil and prevents landslides, Hoa Trang unexpectedly becomes the "main character" in developing community tourism in Ha Ri village.

The flowers bloom from the beginning of the year to the end of April.

In years with lots of rain and favorable weather, Ta Ma stream flowers bloom evenly, with large, bright red flowers, covering the entire stream.

Housed next to Ta Ma stream, Mrs. Dinh H'Núc (68 years old, Ha Ri village) said that before, this village was located in a dense forest with many ancient trees. Along Ta Ma stream, the flowers of the Trang family grew very densely. But then, the land reclamation for livelihood through new crop seasons pushed the forest back to the West.

“Previously, the blooming season of the Trang flowers made the stream bright red, but no one knew about it. In the summer, the shade of the Trang trees became a place where farmers came to relax,” said Ms. H’Núc.

In 2021, tourists flocked to Ta Ma stream, causing a sudden change that left the whole village extremely frightened.

Mrs. Dinh Thi Ha (Mi Ninh, 45 years old, Ha Ri village) added that the village's rice fields are all located along Ta Ma stream. Every rainy season, the stream flows like a waterfall, extremely fierce, waiting to sweep away all the land and fields of the village. Therefore, for a long time, the whole village has "made a covenant" to preserve the Trang forest on both sides of the stream. "Trang trees are big and strong, with roots that cling deeply to both banks of the stream, so preserving the trees means preserving the fields, keeping the village full and warm", Mi Ninh said.

In early April, the flowers are in full bloom.

By 2021, after the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a lot of rain, and the flowers in Ta Ma stream were blooming, turning the stream bright yellow. Many images of this flower were widely shared on platforms and cyberspace, so many people knew about it. After the pandemic, a large number of people flocked to see the flowers in Ta Ma stream. There were days when thousands of people came, causing traffic jams in Ha Ri village.

“That year, there were so many strangers coming, one after another, from the beginning of the village to the end of the village. The whole village was stuck on the road, no one could go to the fields, many people were very scared because there were so many strangers coming!”, Mrs. H'Núc added.

According to Mi Ninh, the village elder at that time, Mr. Dinh Day (who has since passed away), was forced to slaughter a pig to worship the god because many people in the village were afraid of the local god, and the god would punish them, so the whole village was overwhelmed by strangers.

“In the past, few strangers came to Ha Ri village. In 2021, suddenly there were a lot of people coming. One day, thousands of people came, making many people in the village very scared!”, Mi Ninh added.

In early April, the flowers are in full bloom.

Later, when the government came to persuade and explain, the whole Ha Ri village understood that this was a good omen, not a punishment. “After that, the province invested in a tourist road for the village to Ta Ma stream. The road was wide, with solar power for lighting, and the villagers were very excited,” Mi Ninh continued.

>>> Please watch more clips:

Ha Ri village has begun to develop many services and small community tourism shops to serve tourists.

Binh Dinh province invests in a concrete road using solar power for lighting to orient tourism development in Ta Ma stream

The main road opens straight to Ta Ma stream, many young households in Ha Ri village have started to open many services and shops to serve tourists. To better manage the environment, Ha Ri village has established a waste treatment team to manage tourism activities and welcome visitors.

In addition, nearly 100 households in Ha Ri village with land and gardens by Ta Ma stream have joined hands to make bamboo stilt houses, roofs covered with thatch and forest leaves, and bamboo stalls to welcome guests. The stilt houses and stalls are simple but modeled after the huts of mountain people when farming on the edge of forests and fields.

On weekends, nearly 2,000 people come to visit and relax at Ta Ma stream every day during the blooming season of the Trang flowers.

Ta Ma cool stream is entering winter tourist season

The water garden complex by Ta Ma stream has 100 ancient trees and hundreds of other young trees.

Mr. Dinh H'Loc's family used to have a large garden by Ta Ma stream, then he expanded it to grow areca trees. Later, tourism developed, and Mr. H'Loc's areca garden by the stream became a tourist attraction. He invested in 12 huts, bamboo stalls and built bamboo bridges to welcome guests. The thatched roofs of the huts have listed prices, instructions and the owner's phone number for visitors to contact to pay the usage fee of 300,000 VND/day. On days when there are many visitors, Mr. H'Loc's family earns millions of VND from renting out the huts.

Similarly, Mi Ninh’s family has 2 thatched huts and 1 bamboo stall by the stream. On busy days, Mi Ninh’s family “earns” millions. “In addition, the village also has income from selling specialties to tourists, such as: local pork, local chicken, wild vegetables and bamboo shoots, cassava, etc. When the flowers bloom, many households do very well, some earn tens of millions of VND/month,” Mi Ninh said excitedly.

Ha Ri villagers skillfully built stilt houses (like huts) from natural materials to serve tourists at Ta Ma stream.

In the dry season, blue butterflies from the forest fly to surround Ta Ma stream and the whole Ha Ri village, very beautiful.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tu, Vice Chairman of Vinh Hiep Commune People's Committee, said that the population of Trang trees in Ta Ma stream has about 100 trees, many of which are hundreds of years old. To preserve the Trang tree population, the locality has mobilized the planting of 300 new saplings. In addition, the forest protection force has set up checkpoints to preserve the Trang forest and the ecosystem of the surrounding forest.

“Ha Ri village has 159 households, mainly Ba Na people and a few Dao people. Currently, the village has built 52 bamboo stilt houses, roofed with forest leaves and 17 bamboo stalls by Ta Ma stream to promote green tourism,” said Mr. Tu, adding that the commune is promoting self-management groups and community groups to manage waste and tourism in Ha Ri village.

During the blooming season of Trang flowers, Ta Ma stream is crowded with visitors, making children in Ha Ri village excited to play by the stream.

Currently, Vinh Hiep commune is waiting for planning to put the tourist site at Ta Ma stream into more systematic operation, with clear planning for conservation, management and exploitation areas. "The commune and the people's wish is to develop this place into a prototype community tourism site to exploit the potential of nature, culture, people and land," Mr. Tu expressed.

In 2022, the People's Committee of Binh Dinh province invested in a road to promote the development of mountain tourism to Ta Ma stream with a capital of 8 billion VND. The 2.6km long, 6.5m wide road connects from the main asphalt road straight to Quy Nhon city. The People's Committee of Vinh Thanh district also approved the project to develop community tourism, in which Ta Ma stream is the focal point for developing the image of community tourism in the district.

NGOC OAI - Performed by: HUU VI

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/loai-hoa-rung-bien-ban-ngheo-tro-nen-noi-tieng-o-binh-dinh-post734260.html