The person who "ignited" change in Dai Thanh village.

In Dai Thanh village (Ea M'Droh commune), the changes in people's lives don't come from large-scale projects, but stem from a rekindled will to get rich.

The person who "ignited" these positive changes is Mr. Trieu Phu Hien – a respected figure in the community. Through his exemplary voice and practical actions, Mr. Hien has guided the villagers through difficulties, gradually leading them towards sustainable economic development.

Dai Thanh village is home to 93 households, all of whom are Dao ethnic people. Many years ago, the villagers' lives depended solely on old varieties of corn and cashew trees, which yielded unstable harvests. Income was never stable due to the vicious cycle of "good harvest, low prices; high prices, poor harvest." Here, poverty was like an invisible, persistent thread, anchoring the lives of the villagers for generations.

Mr. Trieu Phu Hien, a respected figure in Dai Thanh village, pioneered coffee cultivation to set an example.

Recognizing the great potential of the village's land being wasted by outdated crop varieties, Mr. Hien pioneered an agricultural "revolution" within his community. "If our people want to escape poverty, we can't just stick to the old ways. We must plant high-value crops, cultivate them using the right techniques, and only then will our lives improve," Mr. Hien stated emphatically.

Through his acquired knowledge and decisiveness, Mr. Hien did not stop at mere words, but boldly encouraged villagers to selectively convert a portion of their agricultural land. The focus was on replacing old crops with coffee and pepper – crops with significantly higher economic value, planted on plots of land that had been assessed as having suitable soil conditions.

To build trust among the villagers, more than 10 years ago, Mr. Hien was the one who planted the first coffee and pepper seedlings in the fields of Dai Thanh village.

On his 4-hectare plot of land, where he grows coffee intercropped with pepper, he diligently works hard while also researching and applying scientific and technological advancements to production. As a result, his family's plantation achieves high yields, providing a stable and much better income than growing corn and cashew nuts. To date, thanks to coffee and pepper cultivation, his family earns hundreds of millions of dong annually, and their lives are becoming increasingly prosperous.

Mr. Hien's family's success has been a great motivation, inspiring many other Dao ethnic households in Dai Thanh village to follow suit, gradually changing the economic landscape of this rural area.

Mr. Trieu Phu Hien (far right) discusses coffee cultivation techniques with villagers in Dai Thanh hamlet.

Mr. Hien recounted that initially, the campaign to encourage conversion faced considerable difficulties because the initial investment for coffee and pepper was significantly higher than for corn and cashew nuts. However, all doubts gradually disappeared when people directly witnessed the stable and sustainable economic value that Mr. Hien's coffee plantation and those of other pioneering households brought.

Currently, coffee and pepper have become the main crops of Dai Thanh village. The entire village has 200 hectares of coffee, yielding 360 tons per year. Pepper, grown intercropped and on a large scale, covers about 8 hectares, with an impressive yield of 1.5 tons/ha, confirming the correct direction taken by Mr. Trieu Phu Hien.

To support local people in their economic activities, Mr. Hien regularly organizes exchange sessions and provides technical guidance right in his own garden, turning his orchard into a practical learning environment for the villagers. He also collaborates with the village's self-governing committee to help villagers access preferential loan sources and participate in agricultural training courses organized by the commune.

Pepper plants grown intercropped in coffee gardens have significantly contributed to increasing the economic value for each household in Dai Thanh village.

Not only was Mr. Trieu Phu Hien a pioneer in economic development, but he also made significant contributions to building a new way of life in this rural area.

Beyond economic changes, Mr. Hien also gently and persistently encouraged villagers to raise social awareness and eliminate costly and outdated customs, especially elaborate rituals and cumbersome procedures in weddings and funerals. Thanks to his advice, the people of Dai Thanh village have significantly reduced expenses, freeing up resources to focus on production and improving their lives.

With economic development, the lives of the people in Dai Thanh village are changing every day.

Thanks to the dynamism and dedication of a reputable "leader" like Mr. Hien, along with the efforts and unity of the villagers, the lives of the people in Dai Thanh village have improved significantly, and their incomes have increased. Only 6 households remain poor in the village.

Evaluating the comprehensive contributions of Mr. Trieu Phu Hien and the role of influential figures in the area, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, Chairwoman of the People's Committee of the commune, affirmed: The team of influential figures in the locality is a crucial core force, a "bridge" between the government and the people. A prime example is Mr. Trieu Phu Hien in Dai Thanh village, a positive force who not only conveys the Party and State's policies and laws but, more importantly, directly guides and assists people in developing their economy and building a civilized and progressive life. He communicates and persuades the people in a reasonable and empathetic way, using the language of the people and the example of his family's successful economic development.

In Ea M'Droh commune, Mr. Trieu Phu Hien is a symbol of the new generation of respected individuals, not only preserving tradition but also daring to bring change, introducing knowledge and effective economic models into the community, igniting a new, brighter, and more prosperous life for the people of Dai Thanh village.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202512/nguoi-thap-lua-doi-thay-o-thon-dai-thanh-e5b039d/