Clinging to rocks to make a living

Every day, on a plot of land larger than his family's, Mr. Vong A Sang (Bau Ham commune, Dong Nai province) diligently tends to his banana and avocado trees growing among the rocky crevices. Mr. Sang says he is the third generation in the local ethnic community to make a living from these rocky fields.

Mr. Tran Van Sau, a farmer from Bau Ham commune, clears rocks to plant banana trees. Photo: Van Truyen

Through hard work, these rocky fields have helped many local farmers, including ethnic minorities, to support their families, send their children to school, and build sturdy houses.

Don't disdain rocky fields.

Farmland with rocks scattered across the surface or rocks piled up in small hills right in the middle of the fields, like that of Mr. Vong A Sang's family, is a common sight in the farming areas of Bau Ham commune.

Former Party Secretary of Bau Ham commune, Vu Manh Cuong, said: "Farming on rocky fields is a common sight among farmers in Bau Ham commune for generations. Farming on rocky fields requires more effort from the farmers in caring for and harvesting compared to flat land, because the rocky terrain makes movement difficult and time-consuming."

Despite these obstacles, the people here do not disdain the rocky fields; instead, they rely on them for their livelihood and help their crops thrive.

Having worked at the grassroots level and being a farmer who has been closely associated with the Bau Ham area for decades, Mr. Ngan Van Ngu (of Hoa ethnicity) shared: “Depending on the size of each hole in the ground between the rocks, people have different farming methods. Specifically, for small holes, people choose to plant short-term crops with small roots and stems. For larger holes, they plant bananas, coffee, some fruit trees, and timber trees. After harvesting, the by-products of the crops are used to feed goats. In areas where there is almost no land for cultivation, people use nets to enclose the area and build shelters to raise chickens and let goats roam.”

Mr. Sy Van Hung, a respected figure among the ethnic minority community in Bau Ham commune, said: According to the experience of local elderly farmers, in areas where plants can cling to rocks, the crops thrive and yield high productivity because the soil is shaded by the rocks, keeping it cool and retaining moisture longer. In recent years, many farmers in Bau Ham have hired excavators to move rocks to the land boundary, then crushed them into smaller pieces to build stone fences around their fields. In some places, people pile the rocks in the lower areas, combined with leveling the ground to reduce the slope of the fields… Thanks to this, the area of ​​cultivated land is increasing. However, not every family can do this because the leveling costs are expensive.

Making rocks "bloom"

In recent times, thanks to government policies, farmers have received support in accessing technology and preferential loans. As a result, electricity has been extended to their fields, and farmers have been able to install automatic sprinkler irrigation systems.

Mr. Sy Phat Sang (of Hoa ethnicity, Bau Ham commune) exchanges experiences on farming on rocky land with a local farmer at a conference organized by the Provincial Senior Citizens Association.

Mr. Tran Van Sau (Bau Ham commune) shared: “I have been involved with rocky fields for nearly 60 years. In recent years, government support has helped farmers completely replace the old farming methods that only took place during the rainy season. Now we can cultivate year-round with drilled wells, pumps, and long water pipelines.”

To support farmers in selling their agricultural products, the People's Committee of Bau Ham commune has recently organized campaigns to encourage and guide people to apply modern, green, and clean farming practices and build supply chains. To date, the commune has established 3 supply chains for the production and consumption of bananas and pomelos; formed 27 planting area codes and 39 packaging codes to facilitate the purchase of agricultural products.

Bau Ham commune was established by merging four communes: Cay Gao, Thanh Binh, Song Thao, and Bau Ham, with a natural area of ​​97.5 km2. The commune currently has over 55,500 inhabitants, of which 27,200 are ethnic minorities. The economy of the people in the commune is primarily agricultural production. The land owned by farmers is largely characterized by rocky soil.

Deputy Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Bau Ham Commune, TRAN THI THAO

As a family of farmers, Ms. Vong Coong Lenh (Bau Ham commune) said: Every day, her whole family moves stones little by little to expand the soil. Wherever there is land, the family plants pomelo, kumquat, and avocado trees. The family also raises capons – a specialty of the Bau Ham area – to have food for themselves and to sell for extra income. Thanks to their hard work on the rocky farm, her parents were able to send their children to university. With the savings of the whole family, her parents built a sturdy house. This is a great joy for her family after so many years of working on the rocky farm.

When family economic conditions improve, people in Bau Ham commune actively participate in charitable and humanitarian work in the community, assisting social welfare facilities. Mr. Sy Phat Sang (of Hoa ethnicity), one of the exemplary elderly farmers in Bau Ham commune, said: "When incomes increase, people boldly contribute to helping less fortunate people, following the campaigns of the Fatherland Front and other associations and organizations, or helping those in need themselves. Thanks to this, the neighborly bonds among ethnic groups in the area are becoming stronger."

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Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202508/bam-da-muu-sinh-da15367/