The economic landscape in Coc Lau

More than a year after suffering severe damage from the remnants of Typhoon No. 3 in 2024 and the heavy rains at the beginning of the year, the people of Coc Lau commune continue to strive to overcome the consequences and gradually stabilize their lives. Thanks to their unwavering will and spirit of overcoming difficulties, this land is gradually reviving, and its economy is increasingly flourishing.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Tien Son is one of the exemplary households in the economic development movement in Coc Lau commune.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Tien Son is one of the exemplary households in the local economic development movement. To stabilize their lives after the storms and floods, they embarked on developing a comprehensive economic model: growing cinnamon and raising chickens and pigs. Nearly 3 hectares of cinnamon trees, planted alongside the old ones, are now beginning to yield fruit. Besides peeling cinnamon bark from his own hillside, he also buys cinnamon from other households in the area to peel and sell to traders.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Son shared: "Previously, our family mainly raised pigs, but due to frequent disease outbreaks, we switched to raising chickens, and those with ponds used them for fish farming. Currently, my family has about 2/3 of a hectare of cinnamon trees that have started to yield fruit. During the season, my wife and I also buy additional cinnamon trees from neighboring households to peel and sell fresh bark to traders, earning between 50 and 70 million VND per season."

Mr. Son's family is raising extra chickens to supply the market during Tet (Lunar New Year).

Currently, Mr. Son is raising 600 chicks – a famous breed from Bac Giang province – to supply the Tet market. Every day, he meticulously cares for them and implements disease prevention measures. If market conditions are favorable, this flock of chickens could bring in approximately 50 million VND. This is truly a valuable sum for people in the highlands after the natural disaster.

Mr. Son's family now owns a spacious house, the result of their efforts to improve their family's economic situation.

Besides integrated economic models like that of Mr. Son's family, some households in Coc Lau commune are also quick to grasp market trends and choose new, effective economic directions, such as the cinnamon incense and cinnamon bud incense making model of Ms. Ly Thi Mai's family in Ha Tien village, Coc Lau commune.

Besides purchasing cinnamon bark for export, Mai's family also makes cinnamon incense and cinnamon incense cones.

Besides the organic cinnamon farming model combined with the purchase and processing of cinnamon bark for export, which brings in over 100 million VND per year, processed cinnamon products such as cinnamon incense and cinnamon incense buds also help Ms. Mai's family increase their income and gradually become wealthy.

Ms. Ly Thi Mai shared: "At the end of 2024, after the storms and floods, selling both fresh and dried cinnamon bark became difficult. One day, my family happened to learn about the technique of making cinnamon incense and cinnamon incense cones on social media, so we decided to try it. Initially, we produced them manually, which required a lot of effort and time. Therefore, since the beginning of this year, we have invested in additional machinery to help us, resulting in products that are both beautiful and more productive, leading to increased customer trust."

With modern machinery, processing cinnamon products is simpler and takes less time.

Thanks to the application of modern machinery, processes such as grinding cinnamon powder, splitting bamboo strips, and pressing incense cones are carried out more quickly and conveniently. With the motto "producing clean, safe products for consumers," Mai's family's cinnamon incense and incense cones are completely free of preservatives, using only natural flavorings. Notably, all products are sold immediately through online sales channels – a modern and effective business model.

Ms. Mai is drying cinnamon incense buds.

Moreover, during the period leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year) when demand increases, Mai's family has to hire an additional 5-7 workers to help process cinnamon products, package them, and deliver them to customers on time.

Following the merger, Coc Lau commune now has nearly 4,300 hectares of cinnamon plantations, of which 1,800 hectares are certified organic. Cinnamon is currently the main source of income for over 600 households in the commune, making a significant contribution to poverty reduction and rural development in the area. More and more spacious and beautiful houses are gradually appearing in this once-priority region.

Many households in Coc Lau commune now own spacious and beautiful houses after years of hard work and economic development in the locality.

Mr. Trieu Ta Chieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Coc Lau commune, said: "We will continue to mobilize and effectively utilize capital from national target programs to support people in developing a sustainable economy through various specific models, focusing on developing cinnamon growing areas; providing technical guidance, supporting seed sources, and organic fertilizers to help people develop organic cinnamon growing areas. At the same time, we will encourage businesses and households to participate in the production of cinnamon-based products in the locality."

With the attention and support of the local Party committee and government, and the tireless efforts of the people in this mountainous region, Coc Lau today is not only reviving but is also steadily rising, improving the quality of life and moving towards building a model new rural area.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/buc-tranh-kinh-te-o-coc-lau-post883874.html