Through Tac Cau region

On weekends, we bring along the vọng cổ song “The Cai Thia stream flows to Tac Cau”, immersing ourselves in the peaceful and serene scene under the three ecological layers of pineapples, areca, and coconut trees, which have long been the trademark of this land. Thanks to the vọng cổ lyrics in the song “Hoa tim bang lang” (Purple flowers) that these places are known to many people.

At that time, Tac Cau was mentioned a lot because there was a Tac Cau ferry that took passengers across the river. Tac Cau island is located between the Cai Lon and Cai Be rivers, and is also divided into two halves by the Long Tac canal. Therefore, with each ferry trip across the river, travelers could freely admire the rows of areca and coconut trees. During the pineapple season, dozens of large and small boats, bustling back and forth, docked at the island to buy pineapples to sell elsewhere. By 2014, the Cai Be and Cai Lon bridges were completed, and a part of Tac Cau island no longer had to rely on ferries, but the remaining part still had small ferries to pick up and drop off passengers every day...

Cai Lon and Cai Be bridges connect Tac Cau islet, facilitating trade and economic development. Photo: PHAM HIEU

The Tac Cau wharf is still bustling now, because there is still a fishing port and the Tac Cau industrial park here. What is no longer there are the large ferries and the crowds of people waiting to cross the river. Meanwhile, the Xeo Ro wharf is clearly sad. The asphalt road down to the wharf, which once had no time to rest, is now covered with green moss. The children and elderly women who used to carry “bags and snacks in their hands” and repeatedly say “Water and snacks here, water and snacks here” are now nowhere to be found.

Seeing us standing there taking pictures and then falling into contemplation, Mrs. Loan, the owner of a nearby grocery store, said: “It looks sad, uncle. Once bustling and crowded, now there are almost no people coming and going. I don’t know about other people, but I miss the sound of cars, the sound of ferry horns signaling arrival and departure, and the line of people waiting for the ferry to cross the river.”

Perhaps, having not talked to a stranger for a long time, Mrs. Loan was somewhat excited when her memories were brought back. She said that business now is not as good as when the ferry was still there, and her children have moved out to find a new life... However, when concluding the story, she affirmed that she was very happy to have Cai Lon and Cai Be bridges, because trade is convenient, and the social life of the Ca Mau peninsula has improved thanks to that...

Leaving Xeo Ro wharf, we headed back to Cai Lon bridge, following the concrete road under the bridge to immerse ourselves in the peaceful, cool atmosphere under the old coconut trees and the green areca trees with the color of time next to the immense pineapple rows in the harvest season, giving off a fragrant smell. After a while, we met some garden owners who were harvesting pineapples, we stopped to say hello and ask about the history of this island.

3-layer ecological model of pineapple - areca - coconut in Tac Cau.

According to the elders, Tac Cau island was reclaimed and settled by the Chinese around the 30s of the last century. At that time, the land was large, the population was sparse, the trees were dense, and it was difficult to travel, mainly by boat. People lived by farming. Every time there was a high tide, this place was often flooded, greatly affecting production. To cope, people built a dike around the island and planted water coconut trees outside to block waves and prevent landslides. Not only that, each plot of land also had a dike and underground drainage with its own valve to prevent the garden from being flooded...

Mr. Le Quoc Viet - former Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Chau Thanh district (old) is one of the people who has a deep affection for this island. He informed that in the process of growing pineapples, farmers here have intercropped with areca and coconut. Thanks to that, not only has a unique farming model with 3 ecological layers of pineapple - areca - coconut been formed, but it has also helped people increase their income on the same production area. "Coconut, areca and pineapple do not compete with each other in terms of light density, so they are suitable for planting on the same area. When fertilizing pineapples, all 3 benefit. The most important thing is that when it comes to harvest, if unfortunately one type loses value, there will be another type to compensate, limiting losses," Mr. Viet explained.

In addition to the 3-layer ecological model, there is also something quite interesting in Tac Cau island. Although most of the Chinese people live there, instead of developing trade as in the traditional way, they choose agricultural production. Some people explain that because they are familiar with this agricultural production method, the income is quite "attractive". According to Mr. Du Hong Tam, a resident of the island, his family has 2 hectares of pineapple, areca, and coconut trees, each hectare brings in an income of 150 - 200 million VND/year.

Not only agricultural production according to the 3-layer ecological model, people in Tac Cau Islet also take advantage of the canal surface area to raise fish. Thanks to diligence, hard work, application of scientific advances in production, especially building a collective brand for Tac Cau pineapple, the income of people here is better than many other agricultural models.

Saying goodbye to the people of Tac Cau, we drove around the village and then returned to Cai Lon bridge towards Rach Gia. Looking back at the island - a vast space surrounded by green, our hearts were filled with nostalgia. When asked, the guests said they could not bear to leave because of the sweet taste of pineapple on the island or because of the smiles of the little girls on the island...

PHAM HIEU

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/qua-mien-tac-cau-a462216.html