Khmer youth get rich on saline land with 'double income'

TPO - Khmer young man Danh Hoai Han (born 1996) successfully started a business not only to enrich his family from the "dual income" model, but also to ignite the fire of desire to contribute, spread the spirit of beautiful living, and contribute to changing the face of his homeland.

Pioneering coconut garden model

With the will and desire to establish himself and start a business, Mr. Danh Hoai Han boldly turned his idea into reality. From 50 million VND borrowed through the Provincial Youth Union and his family's savings, Mr. Han invested in a model of growing dwarf coconuts combined with raising freshwater fish on an area of ​​2,500m².

Mr. Han's model has low operating costs and stable output, when coconuts are purchased by traders right in the garden. After a short time, the model has shown outstanding economic efficiency. 200 coconut trees yield about 36,000 fruits per year, equivalent to a revenue of 216 million VND. At the same time, fish farming brings about 2 tons per year, earning about 50 million VND. The total annual revenue of the model is about 266 million VND. After deducting expenses, the estimated profit is more than 100 million VND/year.

Mr. Danh Hoai Han boldly takes the lead in developing the local economy with a new model. Photo: NVCC

Not only enriching himself, Mr. Han's economic model also creates regular jobs for 2 workers and 3-4 seasonal workers, contributing to increasing income for households. His success has created a strong influence, attracting many union members and young people to visit, learn from his experience and boldly borrow capital to develop production.

"In the locality, coconut trees are mainly planted for shade, but I decided to build a model to develop the economy, so in the early days I encountered many difficulties," said Mr. Han.

Mr. Han said that many areas of land here are saline, making it difficult for people to grow rice but the economic efficiency is not high.

After a long time of practice in many localities, especially Ben Tre - the capital of coconut, and research on the internet, he realized that coconut trees can withstand salty soil, require little care, and coconut irrigation ditches can be used to raise fish, creating additional income.

According to Mr. Han, the biggest challenge is not capital, but experience. The most difficult thing is the technique, he has no experience in growing coconuts or knowing about fertilizers, care... so he has to learn and explore by himself. He persistently records the cultivation diary, adjusting every smallest factor, from the pH of the water to the amount of fertilizer for the plants.

"At that time, I was an engineer, a farmer, and a worker. I went to the fields early in the morning, came back at noon, and hurried out to take care of the plants and feed the fish in the evening," he said.

The "dual income" model from coconuts and fish helps Mr. Han develop his family and local economy.

Mr. Danh Hoai Han also advised and proposed that the Youth Economic Club be established in 2022 with 15 members. Up to now, the club has expanded to nearly 30 members, not only as a place to share experiences in raising livestock, growing crops and developing production and business, but also to support and empower many other young people to develop the economy and get rich in their homeland.

Green shirt leader devoted to the community

Not only is he "dirty-footed" in business, Mr. Danh Hoai Han is also an active Youth Union officer. Mr. Han has participated in Youth Union activities since high school and was honored to be admitted to the Party when he was a student.

Before July 2025, Mr. Han was Deputy Secretary of the Tan Phuoc Commune Youth Union (Go Cong District, Tien Giang Province). He actively advised the Party Committee, coordinated with the Commune People's Committee and mass organizations to build and effectively implement the propaganda plan for the "advanced new rural district" program and deploy the movement "Youth join hands to build advanced new rural areas".

Mr. Danh Hoai Han supports people in performing public administrative procedures online.

From July 2025, the three communes of Tan Phuoc, Tan Dong and Tan Tay (Go Cong Dong district, Tien Giang province) merged into Tan Dong commune, Dong Thap province. Mr. Han is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the Tan Dong Commune Youth Union.

He has actively become a bridge, calling for the socialization of resources to build new bridges, upgrade rural roads and build charity houses.

These projects have contributed significantly to improving infrastructure and enhancing the quality of life for local people.

Besides, he also coordinated with units to organize many meaningful activities such as the program "For beloved juniors", career counseling for hundreds of union members, youth and demobilized soldiers, opening vocational training classes and training on science and technology transfer.

With his tireless contributions to the community and outstanding achievements in the work of the Youth Union and the youth movement, Mr. Han was honored to receive many certificates of merit from all levels. Including the Certificate of Merit from the Central Youth Union for his outstanding achievements in implementing the national target program on new rural construction for the period 2021-2025; Certificate of Merit for his outstanding achievements in starting a business and contributing to the socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas in 2025.

Mr. Danh Hoai Han is one of 20 "Young people with beautiful lives" in 2025 organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union in coordination with TCP Vietnam Company. The honoring ceremony will take place in October 2025 in Hanoi.

The "Beautiful Youth" award ceremony is one of the activities of the Youth Fest with the theme "Proud of Vietnamese Youth" to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the Vietnam Youth Union's Traditional Day.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/thanh-nien-khmer-lam-giau-tren-dat-nhiem-man-voi-thu-nhap-kep-post1785596.tpo