Oath to protect the great Na Hau forest

The Mong people live by the forest – and live to protect the forest.

Located deep in the Northwest jungle, Na Hau is where the Mong people chose to settle down decades ago, when other ethnic groups left because of difficult living conditions. For the Mong people, the forest is not only a place to rely on, but also a way for them to survive, the greatest asset that nature has bestowed. Mr. Giang Chan Din - one of the first people to reclaim this land shared that the Mong people chose to stay because they saw the potential of the forest, knew how to exploit the land to grow terraced rice, and keep water from the primeval forest layers. Keeping the forest means keeping water, keeping food. As long as there is a forest, there will be a village - he said.

Sacred Forest Festival – Celebrating Nature and Connecting Communities

One of the memorable highlights in Na Hau is the sacred forest festival - a special ceremony of the Mong people in the spring every year to thank the forest, and at the same time a collective commitment to protect nature. After the ceremony, the sacred forest will be closed for 3 days, no one is allowed to cut down trees, bring green leaves from the forest home, dig up roots, pick bamboo shoots, dig the ground, or let livestock roam free. This is both a traditional ceremony and a unique cultural festival. The Na Hau forest worship festival is an opportunity for every visitor to live in the atmosphere of a unique national intangible cultural heritage. The message of environmental protection is not only in the slogan, but is clearly present in every action, custom and belief of the people here.

Forest Patrol Team – When protecting nature becomes a source of pride

Respecting and protecting the forest is not only a matter of belief, but in Na Hau, that spirit is also expressed through the concrete and determined actions of the Mong people. In Na Hau, each village has a forest protection team - groups of villagers who volunteer to be "forest guards". They patrol regularly 1-2 times a month, preventing deforestation and illegal exploitation. For them, protecting the forest is not only a responsibility, but also an honor and joy for the community. Mr. Sinh, a member of the forest patrol team, shared that doing this work makes him feel happy and comfortable, because he is doing something useful for the community.

Green living from the forest – developing sustainable ecotourism

Now, Na Hau is gradually becoming a community ecotourism destination with homestays located in the middle of the forest, sturgeon farming models, and cinnamon gardens and medicinal plant gardens associated with indigenous cultural experiences.

Exploiting economic value from forests without destroying them is a valuable lesson that Na Hau shares with the Green Connection Journey - inspiring stories about the spirit of solidarity, wholehearted protection and development of the Mong community here.

And the journey continues…

Na Hau is just one of 60 destinations in the Green Connection Journey series – where green living stories are told with the utmost sincerity and simplicity. The program is broadcast at 3:45 pm every Saturday & Sunday on VTV3, Vietnam Television. Let’s join together to see that green living is not far away – but starts from ourselves.

YBĐT

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/226/348376/Loi-the-giu-rung-dai-ngan-Na-Hau.aspx