Abandoning gold mines, 70-year-old man 'goes up the mountain' to set up camp

(Baonghean.vn) -Leaving the job of mining alluvial gold, 70-year-old farmer Nguyen Viet Nam went to the mountains to farm, grow native plants and cover 3 hectares of hills with greenery.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Nam in his family's garden forest. Photo: Ho Phuong

Mr. Nguyen Viet Nam's hill garden is at the end of Khe Nan table, Chieu Luu commune, Ky Son district (Nghe An), a short slope from Highway 7A. The garden is more than 3 hectares wide and is hidden behind the bushes.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Nam is 70 years old this year. He says he is actually Thai. However, his last name is Kinh because his family spent some time wandering in Laos and then settled in Khe Nan since 1953.

In 2014, Mr. Nam and his wife (now 68 years old) came to establish a farm to raise livestock and grow crops on the land that used to be the family's rice fields. From here, he cleared the hills to grow mahogany, bananas and dozens of other native plants such as squash, lemongrass, pineapple, corn, upland rice, peanuts, upland beans, ginger, and turmeric. Each crop was divided into different plots by Mr. Nam. Pineapple and lemongrass were intercropped under the mahogany canopy.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Nam washes peanuts he grew himself. Photo by Huu Vi

It is rare to see a 70-year-old farmer who can grow dozens of crops on his own. Not only that, he also has a herd of nearly 10 goats, and also raises cows, pigs, chickens...

Talking about going to the mountains to farm at the age of seventy, Mr. Nguyen Viet Nam said: In the past, not many people in the area paid attention to farming and people only focused on exploiting alluvial gold. Making money was somewhat easier than it is now.

In the past 10 years, alluvial gold has been depleted, many people have left their villages to work far away or switch to other jobs. Mr. Nam also quit his job of panning for gold on rivers and streams.

Mr. Nam with his family's herd of goats. Photo: Ho Phuong

As a person who loves to work, he feels “itchy hands and feet” when sitting idle at home. However, he is old and cannot go far to find work. After thinking carefully, he discussed with his wife to return to the garden and hill that was divided according to the land and forest allocation policy to establish a farm.

He has a son who is working in Laos, and his daughters have their own families, so the two elderly people have to take care of all the heavy farming work themselves. But for Mr. Nam, working is a joy. He cannot sit still without picking up farming tools.

The problem that the old Thai farmer is facing is that it is very difficult to sell what he raises and grows. “Sometimes people come to buy a few chickens. Bananas are also sold a few bunches each year, sometimes they are just given away” - Mr. Nguyen Viet Nam said.

Ho Phuong - Huu Vi