'Forest man' in Bai Thao

Mr. Ngo Van Ba ​​checks high-yielding eucalyptus varieties before planting them for a household.

Greening many hills

I returned to the mountains and forests of Chi Linh on a day in mid-April, the sky was gloomy and drizzly. The car that took me to Mr. Ba’s house was difficult to get to because his house was located halfway up Ho Danh mountain, completely isolated from the nearby residential area. His house was surrounded by mountains and lush green forests.

Mr. Ba was busy fixing some lawn mowers in front of his house. The middle-aged man was warm, shaking my hand with his rough hands, smiling warmly like a long-lost relative. Perhaps because of his many years of being attached to the mountains and forests, Mr. Ba's every gesture and word was as simple and close as nature.

Almost every day Mr. Ba is in the forest.

"When I heard you were coming here, I kept waiting and just stayed at home. Normally, I would be in the forest with my brothers at this time. It's been raining for the past few days, so we have to take advantage of the opportunity to speed up the process of clearing and planting forests for the people," said Mr. Ba.

Because he is attached to the forest every day, Mr. Ba is called "forest man" by the people in this area.

He said he has been working in the forest planting and care profession for nearly 20 years. His main daily job is to contract to plant and care for forest trees for units and households with production forests. In Hai Duong, most of the production forests in Chi Linh and Kinh Mon have left his footprints. For Mr. Ba, this is not only a job to support his family but also a way to express his love for Mother Nature.

Mr. Ba loves the forest so much that he knows every path and can smell the distinctive scent of certain trees and wild flowers that permeate the forest. Therefore, if he doesn't go into the forest every day, Mr. Ba misses it and feels restless.

In Mr. Ba's yard, there are nearly 10 lawn mowers, chainsaws, and 11 motorbikes. There are countless hoes and shovels. I wondered, and he turned to me and replied: "If I were alone, why would I need so many tools? I have a professional forest planting team of dozens of people, including my wife and two sons. If you want to know about their work, follow me."

Mr. Ba commanded the team of workers to clear vines and broken trees to prepare the ground for planting eucalyptus for the production forest area of ​​a household in Bac An commune.

I followed Mr. Ba to the production forest in Mieu Ba area, Co Menh village (in the same Bac An commune), a few kilometers from his house. The road to this area was quite steep, winding, and full of rocks. Yet Mr. Ba kept going straight. I followed him until I was out of breath.

Before I got there, the sound of chainsaws, lawn mowers, and the cheerful voices of people filled my ears. Looking up from the foot of the mountain, dozens of workers, including Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hue (Mr. Ba's wife), were enthusiastically clearing weeds and vines, preparing the ground to plant high-yielding eucalyptus. Nearly 6 hectares of production forest belonging to a household were destroyed by storm No. 3 last September, and Mr. Ba's team of workers had just been hired to clean up and replant.

The forest trees were broken and fell all over, not to mention the tangled vines. The hard work and continuous work made everyone's faces sweat profusely, soaking their shirts. Mr. Ba constantly encouraged them to try their best. "The brothers worked professionally and quickly. They were willing to eat lunch and rest in the forest to ensure progress. There are still many forests of the people waiting for us. It looks messy, but in a few days this place will have a clean surface, just wait for a little more rain to moisten the soil and plant the trees," Mr. Ba informed.

I asked him about his life and his fate with this profession. Mr. Ba was silent, lit his water pipe, took a deep drag, and then exhaled a thick white cloud of smoke.

He said that since he was a young man, he had wandered to Dong Trieu (Quang Ninh) to make a living. At first, he raised cows and tended lychee orchards for hire, then switched to working as a worker for Dong Trieu Forestry. Being an active and hard-working person, Mr. Ba was loved by the forest management, who often shared their experiences in planting, managing, and caring for forests. His love for the profession, the forest, and his respect for nature gradually grew within him.

In 2009, the demand for forest planting human resources in Quang Ninh was scarce. Mr. Ba seized the opportunity and established a specialized forest planting team. Nearly 40 workers from Thanh Hoa and Bac Giang provinces were recruited and trained by him. In the first 5 years, the forest planting team led by Mr. Ba was contracted to plant and care for an average of 100 hectares of forest per year. He also signed a contract with Dong Trieu Forestry Enterprise to maintain a firebreak of over 70 km.

Mr. Ba directly guides foresters.

Looking back to Bac Giang and his hometown Hai Duong, he saw that the production forest planting movement was also beginning to develop. In 2013, he transferred part of his team to Chi Linh City, Luc Nam District (Bac Giang) to work for units and individuals in need. His forest planting team worked professionally, so they gradually gained the trust of many units and households with production forests in many places.

Like every year, this year, Mr. Ba's team has contracted to plant about 50-60 hectares of production forest for households. The team is also taking care of 130 hectares of forest for 3 enterprises in Soc Son district (Hanoi), Tien Yen, Ba Che (Quang Ninh), Kinh Mon, and Chi Linh city. With a lot of work, Mr. Ba has recruited more workers from the highland provinces.

Dedicated , responsible

The work is hard, but Mr. Ba's team always feels comfortable because they are working for the benefit of nature. In the photo: Mr. Thao A Lu from Lao Cai joins Mr. Ba's forest planting team.

Our conversation was interrupted by a light rain at the end of the day. Looking up at the sky, Mr. Ba confided: "This job is as precious as gold when it rains. Only when it rains can the plants survive and grow well. On days when it doesn't rain, we just clear the ground and take care of the plants that have been planted."

I walked with Mr. Ba through some forests that were still desolate and barren after storm number 3. His eyes filled with pain and he exclaimed: "It's so heartbreaking. It will probably take many years for those lungs of nature to recover."

Since the end of last year, there have been several forest fires in Bac An commune, Van Duc ward. Every time he hears about a forest fire, even at night, he mobilizes all his workers and family members to help put out the fire. For Mr. Ba, this is not only a citizen's responsibility but also because of his love for nature and "not wanting the forest to be damaged any further".

On the way, Mr. Ba visited some households that were preparing to plant production forests. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phong in Co Menh village was preparing to plant several hectares of high-yield eucalyptus and informed: "Mr. Ba's team plants forests very quickly and is dedicated. For nearly 10 years now, my family has trusted and hired his team every year."

Except for the damage caused by storm No. 3, Mr. Ba is quite satisfied because his work over the years has brought much joy to families with production forests. He estimates that each hectare of forest after 3.5 to 5 years of planting will usually bring people about 150 million VND, minus expenses, the profit is 100 million VND. According to him, all workers have jobs and stable income to take care of their lives.

Mr. Ba has worked hard to research and coordinate to bring suitable tree varieties so that people can have an effective production forest area. In the photo: "Forest man" Ngo Van Ba ​​and his son visit and take care of the family's production forest.

But to achieve the above results, Mr. Ba also spent a lot of time researching and bringing back to the people plant varieties suitable for the mountainous soil conditions of his homeland such as: high-yielding eucalyptus C39, C3329, hybrid acacia, grafted acacia... The best planting and fertilization techniques to help the trees grow healthy and prevent them from falling when encountering heavy rain and strong winds were also painstakingly researched by him and then instructed by the workers and the people.

Mr. Ba emphasized: "I always put safety first. From clearing the forest to planting, tending, and harvesting, I supervise, request workers, and propagate and instruct people to create firebreaks. Only then can we minimize damage if a fire occurs."

Mr. Ngo Van Hung (Mr. Ba's second son) established a facility to supply forest trees and scattered trees to the Hai Duong market and some neighboring provinces and cities.

Back home, Mr. Ba and his second son, Ngo Van Hung, took me to visit the family forest. He is also contracting 5 hectares of protective forest and 3 hectares of production forest. All of them basically withstood storm No. 3 and are now growing green and healthy.

Mr. Ngo Van Hung, Mr. Ba's son, said: "We always remember what our father often told us: the forest is home, the forest is homeland."

STRONG PROGRESS - VAN TUAN

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/nguoi-rung-o-bai-thao-409448.html