Admire the people of this district in Dak Nong for growing coffee, turning over rocks, clearing gardens, and finding water for irrigation.

Leaving their homeland to seek new opportunities on the rocky land, many households in Cu Jut district, Dak Nong province have faced countless difficulties. However, with determination and constant efforts, they have improved their land, developed production and built a stable life, contributing to the economic development of the locality.

Mr. Vu Van Minh (born in 1964) in village 16, Nam Dong commune, Cu Jut district, shared that in 1993, because he had no land to cultivate, he, his wife and two young children left their hometown of Hai Hau, Nam Dinh to settle in Nam Dong. When buying 2 hectares of wasteland, Mr. Minh's family encountered many difficulties due to the rocky soil.

After 15 years, Mr. Vu Van Minh's family has just moved all the rocks and gravel in their garden to renovate and grow coffee and pepper to develop the economy.

At first, without modern machinery, Mr. Minh and his wife could only grow short-term crops such as beans and corn in the crevices of rocks. They had to use rudimentary tools such as hoes and shovels to dig rocks.

"The small stones were gathered together to form a fence, but the big stones could not be moved, so we had to dig deep holes to bury them in the ground.

Like that, every year, I can turn over one or two acres of rock to have land to grow coffee and pepper," Mr. Minh recounted.

It was not until 2008, after 15 years of hard work, that his family was able to improve the land to grow coffee and pepper, helping the family's economy gradually stabilize and build a spacious house.

The lush green coffee garden is the result of Mr. Hua Van Bien's family's many years of renovating more than 1.5 hectares of rocky land.

Similar to Mr. Minh's family, Mr. Hua Van Bien (born in 1968), living in village 2, Nam Dong commune, also had to overcome many challenges when he came from Cao Bang to start a business under the new economic program in 1990. Facing a lack of everything, his family only had the hands and strength to transform more than 1.5 hectares of rocky land into a coffee garden.

"There was little soil but a lot of rocks. Back then, there were no machines, so turning rocks in the hot, windy Central Highlands was extremely difficult. There were times when we thought about giving up, but we understood that there was no other way but to persevere," Mr. Bien shared.

Thanks to his determination and diligence, Mr. Bien has now turned a rocky plot of land into a lush coffee garden. With more than 1.5 hectares of coffee, his family earns more than 4 tons of coffee beans each year, gradually stabilizing and becoming more prosperous.

Farmers used the amount of gravel and rocks used during the renovation process to stack on top of each other to make a fence around the garden.

About 2km from village 16, Nam Dong commune, there is a similar story of Mrs. Tran Thi Them (born in 1972) in Thanh Nam village, Ea Po commune, Cu Jut district, facing challenges when following her uncle to Cu Jut to start a business since 1995.

At first, Ms. Them had to work for hire to gradually save up money to buy 1 hectare of land to grow coffee. However, it took Ms. Them ten years of hard work to be able to grow coffee because the land had too many rocks.

Up to now, Mrs. Them has also opened a nursery. After many years of hard work, her family's economy has gradually stabilized.

"Back then, seeing the land full of rocks was scary, but because I didn't have any capital, I worked as a hired hand and turned over a little bit of rock each year. It wasn't until ten years later that I was able to grow a coffee garden," Ms. Them recalled.

Thanks to perseverance and hard work, Mrs. Tran Thi Them's family gradually stabilized farming and opened a nursery.

According to Mr. Truong Van Tu, Chairman of Nam Dong Commune People's Committee, when the commune was first established in 1989, people's lives were very difficult, infrastructure was not yet developed, and roads were extremely difficult to travel. In the early days, stabilizing life and developing the economy was a big challenge for the people.

However, thanks to the attention and investment from the Party and State, the commune's infrastructure has gradually improved.

In 2017, Nam Dong commune was recognized as a new rural commune. To date, the commune has achieved 18/19 advanced new rural criteria and is striving to reach the finish line by the end of this year.

The Chairman of Nam Dong Commune People's Committee added that thanks to timely support policies from the Party and State along with the people's constant efforts, their lives have significantly improved.

The average income of the commune in 2023 was 48 million VND/person/year, but by 2024, the average income of the commune reached more than 65 million VND/person/year, an impressive figure reflecting the efforts and determination of all the people and the entire political system in the locality.

The rows of green, straight coffee trees are the result of the efforts and perseverance of farmers in Cu Jut district, Dak Nong province to stay in this difficult land.

Source: https://danviet.vn/than-phuc-dan-huyen-nay-o-dak-nong-trong-ca-phe-lat-da-don-vuon-tim-nuoc-tuoi-20241101093556064.htm