Changes in the Bắc Trang resettlement area

Mr. K'Đôi, a pioneer in building resettlement villages.

Mr. K'Đôi, former Head of the Farmers' Association in Hamlet 8 and a successful farmer in Hoa Ninh commune, recalls the days 15 years ago. At that time, his Bac Trang hamlet was still a vast expanse of reeds and rushes. There were no roads, and electricity had not yet reached the area. “Back then, we were residents of hamlets in Dinh Trang Hoa commune (formerly Di Linh district). Land was scarce, the population was large, and there was no arable land; life was very difficult for the residents. The government encouraged us to leave our old villages and settle in Hamlet 8. Mr. K'Đôi, then the Head of Hamlet 4, and his family also left their hamlet, built huts, and started gardens in the new land. Looking at the barren land, we were apprehensive, but with the government's encouragement, nearly 60 households volunteered to receive land and move to the resettlement area to have land for production,” Mr. K'Đôi recalled.

The K'ho farmers, having left their old villages for the resettlement area, began digging up cogon grass, building small wooden houses, and tilling the soil to plant coffee and tea seedlings. Without water or electricity, they collected every drop of stream water to irrigate their coffee plants, hoping for the day they could harvest the ripe fruit. Later, the electricity sector quickly extended the power lines and installed electricity, illuminating every corner of their wooden houses. "Moving to the resettlement area was hard work, but we were very happy to receive land for production. Farmers only need land and hard work to make a living," shared Mr. K'Đôi.

After years of hardship, with the support of the State and the hard work of the villagers, the former resettlement village now has a new face. Lush green coffee plantations, rolling hills of verdant tea, and here and there, glimpses of durian orchards in their early stages of development. “The residents of the resettlement village are different now; every household cultivates coffee and tea using new techniques. Scientists like Dr. Pham S. even came to our village to guide us on organic fertilizer composting techniques and safe coffee cultivation. Currently, the coffee yield is quite high compared to the rest of the region, averaging 4-4.5 tons/ha. We have replanted all our crops with new coffee varieties that produce larger, higher-yielding fruit,” farmer K’Đôi proudly stated. Now, the resettlement village is bustling with hundreds of houses nestled among lush green orchards.

Preparing for the coffee harvest on new land.

“The residents of the former resettlement hamlet, now part of Hamlet 8, Hoa Ninh Commune, are truly a united community, excelling in production and enthusiastically building a new rural life,” commented Mr. Cao Trung Ba, a former official of the Commune's Farmers' Association. Mr. Cao Trung Ba reported that the farmers in the hamlet are not only successful in their businesses but also actively participate in movements to build village roads and alleys, and contribute to maintaining the “security alarm system,” ensuring the safety of the entire hamlet, especially during the coffee ripening season. “The Farmers' Association has provided loans totaling 2.8 billion VND to the hamlet's loan and savings group with 49 members. The residents manage the funds themselves, reminding each other to use the borrowed capital effectively. For many years, there have been no outstanding debts or late payments, making it a well-functioning loan group within the association,” Mr. Cao Trung Ba remarked.

From the initial households who moved to the resettlement area, digging up thatched roofs to build their first houses, today the village has a new look, with modern electricity, roads, and schools, and beautiful, large houses being built one after another. The old memories of the arduous resettlement village have blended into Bac Trang village today, with its beauty built by the hands of the farmers.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/oi-thay-o-xom-gian-dan-bac-trang-393612.html