Dao village escapes poverty thanks to medicinal plants

Mr. Trieu Van Liu, in Ha Son village, Pu Nhi commune (Muong Lat) shares about the good remedies of his ethnic group.

Good medicine...

Ha Son village, Pu Nhi commune, lies peacefully among high mountains. After the rain, the sky cleared up, which is also the time when medicinal plants grow strongly. Mr. Trieu Van Liu, Party Secretary and Head of Ha Son village, took the opportunity to go into the forest to find raw materials for prescriptions that customers had ordered. He said: "To pick precious medicinal plants, we have to go to the high hills near the border."

Ask him, how many trees in the forest in Muong Lat district can be used to cure diseases? Mr. Liu pondered for a moment and then shook his head: "I don't know exactly, but it must be hundreds". Because, in addition to the medicinal plants that can be called by name, there are many types of plants that he can identify but do not know the names. However, he knows for sure what diseases those medicinal plants can cure. The most valuable plants that he wants to mention are: black xạ tree, blood grass, polygonum multiflorum, yellow flower tea, ginseng, Chinese clematis, duckweed, goosegrass, ginseng... They are good medicines and each has its own uses in treating common diseases, such as: anemia, premature graying, snake bites, insomnia, colds, back pain, liver pain, arthritis, colon, stomach pain, indigestion, poisoning... The advantage of these medicines is that when taken, they do not leave side effects, are easy to cook, and easy to drink.

In addition to the effects when used independently, the leaves, barks, and roots of the above forest trees, when combined, will create countless other medicinal remedies. According to Mr. Liu, the Dao people in Muong Lat are most famous for their remedies for women's diseases, such as postpartum, menstrual regulation, and bath medicine for women after giving birth...; skin diseases, such as measles, burns, shingles, chickenpox, hand, foot and mouth disease...

It is known that Mr. Liu’s family is one of 10 families in Ha Son village that are certified to practice traditional medicine. Over 60 years old, he has been practicing for more than 30 years, and has cured many people. Many of his family’s traditional remedies have been researched, recognized, and highly appreciated by experts.

Ha Son village has more than 50 households, 100% of whom are Dao ethnic people, so almost every household knows how to make and prescribe medicine. Previously, traditional medicine was only used to treat illnesses for family members and neighbors. Over time, the usefulness of these good medicines spread, and more and more people from far away came to ask for medicine. Then people began to think about developing the medical profession, the elderly passed it on to the young, and just like that, the traditional medicine profession of the Dao ethnic people was passed down and developed.

... become sustainable livelihoods

In recent years, thanks to the care and trade of medicinal plants such as ginseng, cardamom, etc., the villagers have been able to change their lives. New, spacious houses have been built, and children have been given the opportunity to study properly.

In Ha Son village, there are currently more than 10 households that have been granted certificates to practice herbal medicine. Families with certificates practice herbal medicine; other families go into the forest to collect medicinal plants to sell or grow herbs, chop, slice and process herbs... to earn income. Mr. Liu said that on average, each month, the herbal medicine profession provides people here with a stable income of 3 - 5 million VND. In 2024, the total average income per capita in Ha Son village will reach more than 37 million VND, and the poverty rate will be only 2%.

However, according to Trieu Van Liu, the majority of the "doctors" in Ha Son are family "doctors", their brand and reputation are only at the level of word of mouth, and their qualifications have not been tested, so the medical profession here is still only developing on a small scale. On the other hand, when people rush into the forest to collect medicine indiscriminately, rare medicinal plants will be depleted. Nowadays, many people compare going into the forest to collect medicine not as "picking" anymore but as "hunting". To find some precious medicinal plants that are at risk of extinction or have very few, they have to go up to the high mountains, the work is extremely hard. In addition, due to the lack of cultivated land and economic difficulties, people only exploit them without paying attention to planting and protecting rare medicinal resources. Therefore, every time he goes into the forest to collect medicine, he sees a plant that grows a lot, he pulls out a small branch to plant, and brings back any type that can be cut into branches. The medicinal herb garden around the house is the result of decades of searching for medicine in the forest.

It is known that at present, Ha Son people have actively grown 50% of raw materials, the rest still have to go into the forest to search for medicinal plants.

Like many other ethnic minorities, Mr. Liu hopes to have classes to introduce medicinal plants and cooperatives specializing in growing and processing traditional medicine, in order to contribute to the preservation and development of medicinal plants as well as valuable remedies of the nation.

Article and photos: Tang Thuy

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ban-dao-thoat-ngheo-nho-cay-duoc-lieu-249781.htm