Hoang Hao Eco Garden is attractive from simple things

DONG THAP Hoang Hao Ecological Garden (Tam Nong Commune) is a rare agricultural tourist destination that still preserves the rustic countryside scenery, attracting visitors every time they visit.

The one who breathes life into memories

Agricultural production in the Mekong Delta is now transforming rapidly with the support of mechanization. Combine harvesters and straw balers rumbling through the fields during each rice harvest season have become familiar images.

From Hoang Hao Eco Garden, you can see a corner of the peaceful countryside. Photo: Kim Anh.

Amidst that development, there is a rare place in Dong Thap province that still retains its old features. Behind the Hoang Hao ecological garden (Tam Nong commune) is a fertile, green rice field. After each rice harvest, people use buffaloes to pull the straw carts to bring it back to the warehouse for storage. The straw is piled high, the scent of new straw is strong on the field, mixed with the smell of hometown memories. This place is becoming an attractive tourist destination, sought by many tourists, like an original slice of the old West.

Exploiting those simple, rural images, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hao (41 years old) - the owner of a 12,000m2 garden, decided to set up an ecological garden, welcoming tourists to visit.

From a simple passion for gardening, his family's encouragement helped him boldly develop this place into an agricultural tourist destination in early 2023. Coming here, visitors can not only eat and relax, but also immerse themselves in the production life of the people, watch the fields stretching before their eyes and feel the rare peace.

The ecological garden is divided into many areas: a fishing area for families, a restaurant with a capacity of 120 - 150 guests, a children's play area, a Koi fish pond combined with a pearl farm and 5,000m2 of vegetable and fruit growing areas for tourists. All are operated with the passion to preserve the green landscape and exploit local products.

Tourists experience at Hoang Hao ecological garden. Photo: Kim Anh.

To maintain this ecological garden, Mr. Hao has to spend more than 100 million VND per month on operating costs for staff, electricity, water, landscape care, etc. "If we only do it to make money, this model cannot last long. We have to do it out of passion and the desire to preserve the value of our homeland," Mr. Hao shared.

Freshwater pearl farming combined with pearl harvesting experience

To create a new look for the ecological garden, Mr. Hao boldly developed a pearl farming model - a somewhat risky direction as he had to domesticate the oysters to get them used to fresh water.

Mr. Hao imported the oysters from the Central region, which are adapted to saltwater and brackish water environments. At the ecological garden, he began to domesticate them from saltwater to brackish water and then to freshwater, which took a lot of time. In particular, the embryo implantation stage was the most difficult, the oysters were easily lost, with a risk rate of up to 30-40%. After this stage, the oysters were healthy, accustomed to freshwater, and had a stable survival rate, at which point he began to introduce the oysters into natural ponds.

Tourists enjoy the experience of catching and adopting a natural clam. Photo: Kim Anh.

Currently, the pearl farming area is about 1,700m2 wide, with nearly 2,000 pearls (4-5 years old) being raised in the form of earthen ponds and mud ponds combined with Koi fish. Notably, the pearls are raised naturally, not fed industrial food but mainly eat plankton in the water environment. Although the shine and shape of pearls are not as beautiful as pearls raised in saltwater, according to Mr. Hao, freshwater pearls have pearl quality that meets standards in terms of nacre thickness, shine, shape, color and smooth surface.

The pearls here are not for sale but only for visitors to experience - a service only available at Hoang Hao Eco Garden. Visitors can go down to the lake to catch and open the oysters themselves, and experience finding their own pearls.

On average, each oyster can produce 1-4 pearls. If the oyster does not have a pearl, visitors can continue to experience separating another oyster. The pearls can then be left raw as souvenirs or sent to a jeweler to be crafted into jewelry.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hao (left) and tourists experience separating clams. Photo: Kim Anh.

Mr. Hao said that every year his family's eco-garden welcomes thousands of visitors, with revenue ranging from 5 to 7 billion VND, creating jobs for about 20 local workers. According to him, in the countryside of Tam Nong commune, doing agricultural tourism with such revenue is quite good, helping him have the conditions to reinvest to maintain and develop the garden.

For Mr. Hao, the goal of doing agricultural tourism is not only to attract a lot of visitors, but he hopes that whoever comes will want to come back, a place that gives them a feeling of not being rushed, not being rushed to contemplate the remaining memories of the countryside in the West.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/vuon-sinh-thai-hoang-hao-hap-dan-tu-nhung-dieu-gian-di-d783464.html