The transformation of Tak Chuom

Tak Chuom nestles beside the poetic Nuoc La River. Photo: THIEN TUNG

Nestled beside the Nuoc La River, Tak Chuom village is like a miniature Tak Po with houses crowded together and interwoven village roads. After the rain, a misty mist covers the stilt houses, as if preserving the memory of a village once known as the "wine cellar" of Tra Mai commune.

“Tak Chuom used to be Tra Mai’s obsession,” said my colleague Ho Van Nai. “In the memory of my generation, the village was “cursed” by alcohol. Almost every house had someone drinking, getting drunk from early morning to late afternoon.”

The village is located right in the center of the district, but day by day, the sound of wine in bamboo pipes replaces the lullaby, the sound of gongs and drums is also absent during the village festival seasons. Wine brings poverty, hunger, and tears. Many children grow up orphaned because of a seemingly harmless cup of wine. Weeds grow up to the top of the fields.

The opportunity came when Tra Mai was chosen as a pilot commune for new rural development. And Tak Chuom - a part of Tak Po center, where favorable conditions for transportation, electricity, schools, and stations converge - cannot continue to be a "wrinkle" in the newly painted picture.

Propaganda and mobilization campaigns were vigorously implemented. Cadres stayed in the village, persistently "knocking on every door", talking to each person. Along with that were practical projects: Concrete roads in the village were expanded, suspension bridges connecting the two banks of the river were firmly built. Houses were repaired, fences were rebuilt, and abandoned plots of land were gradually awakened with rows of cassava, corn fields, and rice fields.

The change started with pioneering households - like Nai, cadres and civil servants who lived in the village - and then gradually spread. People saw the bright example, they began to gradually give up drinking wine, put away the yeast jars, and replaced them with hoes, plows, and dreams of a new day.

In 2023, Nam Tra My district officially included Tak Chuom in the list of community tourism villages. From here, a new chapter was written, recording the change in people's thinking.

Ca Dong people in Tak Chuom village do community tourism. Photo: THIEN TUNG

Tours to experience the life of the Ca Dong people were formed. Visitors came, stayed in stilt houses, ate mountain meals, participated in gong festivals, learned to weave, and listened to fairy tales told in the Ca Dong language by the night fire.

Ms. Alang Thi Nhu Tien - in charge of the community art troupe of Tak Chuom village said that each person becomes a local "tour guide", each house becomes a rest stop, each stream and forest becomes a unique tourism product.

Once a week, the villagers gather to practice gongs, dance and sing. The more they meet, the more they know, and the more their solidarity grows. Not only for themselves and their families, the people of Tak Chuom village now know how to live for the community. They also donate land to open a path to the waterfall behind the village, creating a highlight for tourists.

Every roof now has a flower garden, every street is lined with flags and cultural signs. The name Tak Chuom is no longer associated with wine, but with festivals, smiles and the brilliant colors of brocade in the middle of the forest.

Coming to Tak Chuom today, the atmosphere is very different from the past. The sound of gongs and drums is bustling every afternoon. The fire in each house is filled with the sound of telling stories of life and the village. Children chatter on their way to school, the elderly grow vegetables and raise chickens. Each person seems to be contributing a beat to the village's reviving harmony.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/cuoc-chuyen-minh-cua-tak-chuom-3156863.html