Persevering in overcoming difficulties, staying close to the people

In the past, the villages were desolate and impoverished... yet today they are lush green, peaceful, and prosperous. This achievement is thanks to the hard work and perseverance of the ethnic minority people in the highlands of Cu M'gar (Dak Lak). Throughout its development and growth, the officers, soldiers, and workers of Coffee Company 15 (Coffee Company 15) have always joined hands and contributed to the peace and prosperity of the people here, living up to the tradition of "Persevering through difficulties, staying close to the people, uniting creatively, and steadily moving forward."

The story that Lieutenant Colonel Pham Phu Chau, Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Company, told us began in the days when the officers and soldiers first arrived to carry out projects under the Buôn Zun and Buôn Mùi economic -defense projects... Back then, the areas of Ea Sin and Cư Dliê M'nông communes were particularly difficult; infrastructure, land was barren, the climate and weather were harsh; ethnic minorities accounted for a high percentage of the population, the level of education was low, and many backward customs still persisted...

The commander of the 5th Military Region Command visited the high-yield coffee plantation model of Coffee Company 15.

Back then, officers and soldiers of Coffee Company 15 went to the villages and hamlets to persuade people to work as laborers in the company. Initially, the people didn't believe it and didn't understand what a worker was, so the propaganda work faced many difficulties. However, with the motto "slow and steady wins the race," they piloted model projects in agricultural and forestry production, planting rubber trees, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, etc.; guided methods of forest protection and cultivation, and produced bio-fertilizers; and then gradually transferred technology to help people stabilize their lives, contribute to economic development, and become wealthy in their own homeland. It can be said that generations of officers, soldiers, and workers of the company throughout the years have devoted their efforts to conquering nature, reclaiming land, and restoring it to transform this area into the prosperous region and raw material source it is today. Currently, hunger and poverty in Cu M'gar have receded into the past. Nestled amidst the coffee and pepper plantations laden with fruit are bright red tiled roofs, radiant faces of the local people, and confident smiles...

Recently, when General Tran Quang Phuong, Member of the Central Committee of the Party and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly , visited the unit, he concluded with a very concise yet meaningful statement: "Throughout its construction and development, Coffee Company 15 has always excellently fulfilled its mission of maintaining the '3G', which is to protect the people, protect the land, and protect the territory..."

In a discussion with us about the results of implementing the economic-defense zone projects, Lieutenant Colonel Le Trung Thanh, Director of the Company, said: “The Company is stationed in three provinces: Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, and Da Nang City. Based on the characteristics and requirements of the local authorities, we focus on investing in key projects serving the national economy and people's lives. The Company identifies its core value as production and business from coffee cultivation, stabilizing livelihoods and ensuring social security for the people. This means that production and business must serve the lives of the people.”

Lieutenant General Le Ngoc Hai, Commander of Military Region 5, visits the coffee processing exhibition area of ​​Coffee Company 15.

The Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the Company are committed to proactively exploiting raw materials and cooperating with local businesses to develop a sustainable coffee industry. The key issue is defining the values ​​and the value chain system. Then, focus on exploiting the values ​​of the deep processing chain to create jobs and stable income for workers, as well as generate revenue for the Company.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Phan Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of Coffee Company 15, the communes within the Cu M'gar Economic-Defense Zone have now become cultural hotspots, with vibrant mass organizations. The mobile performing arts team goes to each village to propagate and encourage people to abandon outdated customs, and to prevent and combat harmful cultural practices and social evils... Through countless seasons of changing forest leaves, the officers and soldiers of the Company have worked closely with the people. The people have not betrayed the land, and the land has not betrayed the people. The model of "the Company closely linked with the district and communes, production teams linked with villages and hamlets of ethnic minorities and people in adjacent areas" has contributed to transforming uninhabited, barren, and impoverished forest areas, wastelands scarred by war, into vast "green defense lines" of industrial trees, and prosperous residential areas and villages.

The once "dead land," which suffered hundreds of tons of bombs, bullets, and Agent Orange/dioxin, is now yielding bountiful harvests. This happiness is thanks to the coordinated assistance of the officers and soldiers of Coffee Company 15. Commenting on Coffee Company 15, Mr. Nguyen Thien Van, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dak Lak province, enthusiastically said: "Over the years, the officers, soldiers, and workers of Coffee Company 15 have always shared the hardships with the people, helping the people of Cu M'gar commune escape poverty!"

On a crisp autumn morning, the border is shrouded in mist, the fragrance of coffee blossoms permeates the air, and the villages are peaceful and prosperous. The love for this borderland has instilled in the officers, soldiers, and workers of Coffee Company 15 the unwavering will and strength to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the ethnic minorities of the Cư M'gar highlands, working together to build and firmly protect the "borderland" of Central and Tây Nguyên regions, a strategically important area for the nation's economy and defense.

Text and photos: TIEN DUNG - KIM NGAN

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/nuoi-duong-van-hoa-bo-doi-cu-ho/kien-tri-vuot-kho-gan-bo-voi-nhan-dan-847308