Cadres and party members pioneer in afforestation
After visiting the village, Party Secretary of Tay Son commune Vu Ra Tenh happily told about the days he and his ancestors planted samu and pơmu forests right on the land where he was born and raised.
“Since childhood, I, like the Mong people in Tay Son, have been attached to the forests and depended on them for our livelihood. My grandfather’s generation, then my father’s, and my brothers in the family all understood that planting and protecting forests will help people have a peaceful and prosperous life. For more than 20 years, the seven of us have been persistently planting and protecting pơmu and samu forests,” shared the Party Secretary of Tay Son commune.
Having said that, he further cited that since 1995, along with the State's forest planting policy, he and his brothers and villagers went to the pơmu and samu forests to bring saplings back to plant. Of these two precious trees, the samu tree is the "more difficult" and must be taken care of very carefully in order to survive and grow as tall as it is today. The seven brothers of Mr. Vu Ra Tenh, together with his grandfather and father, have devoted their entire lives to collecting and caring for more than 30 hectares of rare pơmu and samu forests. Now the trees have grown so tall that they "reach the blue sky" that, according to Mr. Ra Tenh, "the tree trunk is as big as a human body".
Along with afforestation, Mr. Vu Ra Tenh is also a typical economic model in Tay Son when he is always a pioneer in implementing local production development models. And he has "set an example" by raising buffaloes and cows, from free-range grazing to zoning production areas for confinement. Then he planted elephant grass, corn, cassava and planted forests. When there is a new model, he also volunteered to do it first, such as testing the planting of hawthorn trees from 2021.
“This is a new crop, invested by the Provincial Ethnic Committee to help people, I also participated in planting 2 hectares, my brother planted 3 hectares. After nearly 3 years of planting and caring, the hawthorn tree has now grown tall, yielded a harvest, and the fruit is heavy on the branches. The whole village has about 10 hectares of hawthorn trees, yielding 1.5 - 2 quintals/tree” - Mr. Ra Tenh excitedly said.
The movement of planting and protecting forests in Tay Son, according to the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Vu Ba Re commune, has been deeply ingrained in the people's consciousness. In addition to planting, up to now, the cadres and people of Tay Son commune have restored nearly 70 hectares of po mu and sa mu forests, contributing to the greenness and fertility of the rare po mu forests of Tay Son, which are a valuable resource, bringing sustainable environmental value, preserving precious tree species for future generations...
On the border land of Ky Son, when it comes to afforestation and good economic performance, if in Tay Son there is the extended family of Secretary Vu Ra Tenh, then in Huoi Tu there is the Secretary of the Central Village Party Cell - Vu Va Chong.
Planted and fertilized by the couple for more than half their lives, the tree, which was only as tall as a hand, has now become a vast pơmu forest, with more than 5,000 trees. At the age of over 60, Secretary Vu Va Chong still wants to continue to promote the value of the "green gold" treasure by developing more eco-tourism services under the forest canopy.
Always wearing the green military uniform, Mr. Vu Va Chong is busy with "national and family affairs". As a veteran returning to his village, he continues to promote the will to work and produce with a relentless spirit, fighting hunger, poverty, and deforestation through afforestation, animal husbandry, and slash-and-burn cultivation.
While walking briskly on the mountain roads, Mr. Vu Va Chong introduced the “project” of developing eco-tourism under the canopy of the pơmu forest and said that this year he focused on taking care of tea trees and implementing an eco-tourism service project. In previous years, in addition to more than 5,000 pơmu trees, he also planted tea, ginger and raised cattle “to make ends meet”. With a scale of more than a dozen cattle, including the Chận breed, a ginger and tea plantation of more than 5 hectares, and raising black chickens, he also earned enough income to cover his living expenses and raise his children to adulthood.
Chairman of the People's Committee of Huoi Tu Commune, Mua Ba Gio, said that with his prestige, hard work, seriousness and enthusiasm in work, especially his arduous and persistent process of planting pơmu forests, veteran Vu Va Chong has sparked the afforestation movement in Huoi Tu. Following the example of Secretary Vu Va Chong, more than 30 households in Huoi Tu have also started planting forests.
Plant trees for future generations
Not only in Ky Son, in the Western region of Nghe An, examples of "big trees" in the family planting trees and afforestation are no longer rare. For example, Mr. Vi Van Nhat of Long Thang village (old Na Xai village) of Hanh Dich commune, Que Phong district.
In a small house nestled at the foot of the hill, Mr. Vi Van Nhat is over 70 years old, and his health is not good due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but when he knew we came to ask about how to grow the rare Samu Dau tree, his eyes lit up with joy.
Mr. Vi Van Nhat has been growing samu trees for more than 20 years. Currently, in his family's hill garden, there are nearly 20 tall samu trees. The largest tree has a diameter that a person cannot hug. From the corner of his small house, looking up the hill, one can clearly see rows of tall samu trees over 20 years old growing in straight rows. Mr. Nhat pointed to the tall trees, smiling and confided: "I took the seeds to plant hundreds of trees, it took more than 20 years to take care of so many trees to survive and thrive."
“If you know how to handle it, a lot of seeds will germinate into trees. At first, I took the seeds to plant, but I didn’t know how, so many trees died, gradually. After a long process, I discovered what the species of cassia likes and how it likes to live, so only a few trees have survived until today,” said Mr. Nhat.
At first, he planted hundreds of trees, but they gradually died, leaving about 60. He planted these trees along the slopes of the farm. However, when the trees grew big, their trunks were as big as a big toe, but most of them still died. Not discouraged, he researched and found a way to protect and save the remaining trees by planting cassava trees to create shade for the young samu trees, choosing a cool and humid place to plant them.
Mr. Vi Van Nhat expressed that, not only does he love this tree, he is determined to plant samu to teach his children and grandchildren the awareness of planting trees and afforestation. He wants future generations to have shade and live peacefully under the shade of green trees. Throughout his life, he has been attached to the forest, and was once a forestry cooperative officer. His love and passion for planting forests has been with him like the breath of life, never to be separated.
Following his father’s wishes, Mr. Nhat’s son, Mr. Vi Van Son, is also working hard to plant forests. Mr. Son’s family’s hill garden now has a variety of trees such as samu, cinnamon, yellow heart, acacia, cassava, mac khen, etc., providing shade all year round and bringing in economic income.
The work of many generations in the Western region of Nghe An, of the pioneering cadres and party members planting trees and afforesting has great significance, contributing to promoting the afforestation movement of the highland people who live closely and depend on the favor of the mountains and forests. The priceless forests of po mu and sa mu, planted with the sweat and effort of many generations of people over the past decades, are increasingly greening the forests in the vast Nghe An region.
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