In this coastal area of ​​Ben Tre, what animals are lying around, sold at "cheap prices" that people guard day and night?

For a long time, coastal residents of Binh Dai, Ba Tri, Thanh Phu ( Ben Tre province) have compared clams to “white gold” because of their great value, helping them have a prosperous life. At the beach, hundreds of people are on duty day and night, sticking with the wind and waves to keep clams...

For a long time, coastal people in Binh Dai, Ba Tri, Thanh Phu (Ben Tre) have compared clams to "white gold" because of their great value, helping them have a prosperous life.

At the beach, hundreds of people are on duty day and night, sticking with the wind and waves to keep the clams and contribute with the forces to protect security and order in the coastal border area of ​​the Fatherland.

Before the sea, behind the forest

At the end of the year, after many appointments, we finally arrived at the coastal border commune of Thoi Thuan in a joyful, warm atmosphere when this revolutionary base area was changing every day.

From the provincial center, it takes nearly 2 hours by motorbike, a distance of more than 70km, to reach the final point of National Highway 57B, located right next to Thoi Thuan beach.

From here, we walked through the protective forest of mangroves, acacia trees, and barringtonia trees, then took a boat and finally walked along the coast for another hour to reach the clam farm of Rang Dong Aquatic Products Cooperative (Thoi Thuan commune, Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province).

When arriving at the beach, the scenery here is still wild because there is only forest and immense beach. When the tide is low, the beach stretches as far as the eye can see, but when the water is high, the wind brings waves crashing loudly onto the shore, making the watchtowers unstable.

The entire 16km long beach area has 13 watchtowers built close to the shore and 11 boat anchors anchored outside to guard the clam beds. The watchtowers are covered with corrugated iron roofs, wooden planks, and concrete pillars driven nearly 2m deep into the sand to withstand strong waves and winds.

The cooperative's security force of 71 people is always on duty day and night to protect the clam beach. There are no houses here, in front of the guardhouse is the vast ocean, behind is the protective forest, the security force lives all year round, making friends with the forest and the sea.

Standing on a watchtower over 3m high, Deputy Director and Head of the Clam Protection Team of Rang Dong Seafood Cooperative Mai Van Tien communicates with watchtowers and offshore boat stations via walkie-talkie. All security and order situations, the number of people coming to set nets and catch snails are reported at any time of the day via walkie-talkie.

Taking advantage of their free time, the brothers returned to the watchtower to make a pot of tea, sit down to drink water, and rest among the vast ocean waves.

As someone with more than 20 years of experience guarding this clam beach, Mr. Tien said: “The security guards here are just friends with the waves and the protective forest, so they get used to it. When the tide is high, the force guarding the boats outside regularly patrols to prevent intruders from entering the beach, and when the tide is low, the force guarding the watchtowers inside the shore takes turns patrolling day and night.

When something unusual happens, we will notify each other via walkie-talkie and contact functional forces such as police and border guards to coordinate the solution. Thanks to that, the security and order situation in the coastal border area has been very stable in recent years."

On average, every month, security guards take turns taking 4 days off to visit their families. This is a rare time for them to return to the mainland and enjoy time with their families.

Clam exploitation in the sea area of ​​Thoi Thuan commune, Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province). This is a key clam farming area of ​​Ben Tre province. Photo: Hoang Trung.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nhung, 60 years old, has been working as a security guard here for 4 years so he has gradually become accustomed to life by the beach. As a native of Thoi Thuan, he used to do all kinds of jobs to make a living from fishing, farming, to catching clams for the cooperative...

Mr. Nhung confided: “As a seafarer, it is not strange to come here to work as a security guard, with the forest behind and the sea in front. Here, there are always security guards who care and help each other overcome difficulties, reducing boredom. I always try to complete the assigned tasks, protect the assets of the whole cooperative and contribute to patrolling and protecting the security and order of my homeland's sea area.”

New Year's Eve at the blue sea

This year is the 22nd year that Nguyen Van Cuong Em, born in 1987, has participated in protection at the clam beach with more than ten years of welcoming New Year's Eve at the beach.

Mr. Cuong Em recounted: “The first year I came here to celebrate New Year's Eve when I was only 18 years old, I felt very sad when my friends were having fun with their families, or attending parties, going to spring festivals at amusement parks, fairs... Gradually, the feeling of celebrating New Year's Eve and then celebrating Tet right on the beach became familiar and there was a special feeling of excitement when I could see the fireworks very clearly from all directions in Binh Dai or Ba Tri districts. On New Year's Eve, we also set up the offering tray according to the tradition of our ancestors and happily welcomed the new year."

New Year's Eve at the blue sea for Mr. Nguyen Van Nhung is just as joyful as on shore. Mr. Nhung said: "The past few years celebrating Tet here have been very joyful with the brothers in the security team when the guards come to wish each other a happy New Year and drink a cup of tea to welcome the new year.

During Tet holidays, the leaders of the cooperative come to visit and wish us a happy new year, so we forget the feeling of being on the vast ocean, full of wind and waves. The Tet meal is prepared by our wives and children with braised meat, cakes, jams, Chinese sausages, etc. to use throughout the shift. Therefore, now it is normal for us to work the shift before New Year's Eve or the shift after Tet.

In recent years, the security guards' lives have been very stable, so they feel secure leaving their families to carry out their duties. Thanks to the security force, the assets of millions of clams lying under the sand of the blue sea with a value of tens of billions of dong have been preserved and are a major source of income for the people of this coastal area.

Mr. Mai Van Trung, a member of Rang Dong Seafood Cooperative, said: “Every year, each member of my family receives a profit of about 1 million VND/person from clams. In addition, my family also receives clam catching tickets and buys tickets to hire from elderly and single-parent families, so we have work all year round.

Each clam collector is paid 180,000 VND by the cooperative, much easier than working for hire outside. In recent years, the income from clams has been very large, so people have a stable life. In which, there is a contribution from the cooperative's clam protection force who always guard the clam field day and night.

This year, the cooperative was assigned by the Thoi Thuan Commune Party Committee to exploit 36 ​​billion VND. Up to now, the harvest has reached 52 billion VND, much higher than the plan, so the profit distribution to the people is higher than in previous years.

Director of Rang Dong Seafood Cooperative Nguyen Quoc Dung said: “Rang Dong Seafood Cooperative is a special cooperative that manages and exploits natural resources such as clams on the beach. In recent years, thanks to favorable natural conditions, the amount of clams produced in Thoi Thuan sea area is quite large.

Since the beginning of the year, the sale of 80 tons of clam seeds alone has brought in 10 billion VND in revenue, and about 42 billion VND in commercial clams, so the members are very excited. All assets of the cooperative are entrusted to the security force on duty 24/7 to guard, protect natural resources and protect the coast.

In addition, the cooperative's security force also coordinates with the police, military, and border forces to maintain coastal security. In particular, it coordinates with the Thoi Thuan commune military to establish a maritime militia platoon and conducts annual training to ensure good security and order in the coastal area.

In the evening, we bid farewell to the clam protection team amidst the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Here, the brothers are still on duty day and night to protect the precious product of clams that nature has bestowed upon this land. At the same time, they coordinate with other forces to protect security and order in the coastal border area.

Currently, Rang Dong Aquatic Cooperative is leased by the State with an area of ​​1,500 hectares, a coastline of 16km with 3,497 member households and 9,626 people of the entire Thoi Thuan commune.

On average, each person receives a profit of 1 million VND per year. In addition to the profit, all households are given a clam catching voucher for the cooperative with an amount of about 10 billion VND per year. Thanks to that, people have jobs with a salary of 180,000 VND per voucher. Single-parent families and the elderly who cannot catch clams for hire can transfer their clam catching vouchers for about 50% of the salary.

Source: https://danviet.vn/o-vung-bien-nay-cua-ben-tre-co-con-vat-gi-nam-la-liet-ban-gia-hat-gie-ma-dan-canh-phong-ngay-dem-202501200757249.htm