Quang Ngai: 14 isolated households living in the middle of the jungle have moved to a new place

Since the beginning of 2025, 14 households in Ong Den village have been relocated to a new resettlement area, only about 1km from Tra Giang Commune People's Committee. Photo: NGUYEN TRANG

The resettlement area is 2.4 hectares wide, only about 1km from Tra Giang Commune People's Committee, invested more than 12.9 billion VND with full infrastructure: spacious houses, lighting, convenient traffic, near schools, medical stations. Each household is arranged a new house, opening up hope for a more stable and fulfilling life.

Mr. Tran Van Hoang (44 years old) shared: “At first, I was hesitant because my ancestors had been attached to the forest all their lives. But when I moved to the new place, saw the wide road, electricity, and close to the school, I was very happy.”

A corner in the valley in the middle of the old forest, the old residence of Ong Den people. Photo: NGUYEN TRANG

The relocation journey is not only a change in residence, but also an important turning point in community life. Previously, to get to Ong Den peak, one had to walk through the old forest for more than 2 hours, crossing steep mountain slopes. The whole area only had simple stilt houses, no electricity, no roads, no schools or clinics. People lived mainly on subsistence farming. Trading was almost impossible because there was no transportation route, and it was located in a protected forest area. They could only raise a few buffaloes and cows and then lead them through the old forest down the mountain to sell, but they were also "squeezed at a low price".

Children at Ong Den roof about a year ago before moving to the new resettlement area. Photo: NGUYEN TRANG

Mr. Ho Xuan Den (71 years old) said: “We have been “clinging” to this forest for a long time. But when I saw life outside the forest gradually changing, I knew that it was time for people to leave the village for a better life. When the cadres came to meet with the villagers to talk about moving to a new place, the villagers were both excited and worried. They were worried about not knowing what the new place would be like, but also happy because the children would have better conditions to study. When we received the new house, we were extremely happy.”

Ms. Ho Thi Tram is happy to have a new house. Photo: NGUYEN TRANG

Mr. Ho Van Tu, Chairman of Tra Giang Commune People's Committee, said that in addition to continuing to fully and promptly implement the State's support policies for ethnic minorities in difficulty, the locality is also actively solving the livelihood problem for the people. On Ong Den peak, people still have fields and gardens, but because there is no road, trading and commerce face many difficulties. The locality has agreed to arrange 14 hectares of land managed by the commune on the other side of Tra Boi stream for people to grow crops and raise livestock.

However, this area has not been handed over yet because there are still acacia trees planted 5 years ago by some other households, and this acacia is now old enough to be exploited. Tra Giang Commune People's Committee has organized meetings to mobilize people to quickly exploit acacia and return the land to the commune so that the commune can grant it to the households of Ong Den peak.

Hopefully, with the determination of the local government and the people's spirit of overcoming difficulties, the new life of the Cor community leaving the forest will soon improve, contributing to continuing the story of change in the mountainous region of Quang Ngai .

NGUYEN TRANG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/quang-ngai-14-ho-dan-song-biet-lap-giua-dai-ngan-da-ve-noi-o-moi-post795844.html