Main tree in Cam Hoa

(Baonghean) - We had to cross several tea hills before we could meet Mr. Lang Thai Hoa - Secretary of the Cam Hoa village Party Cell (Cam Son, Anh Son) who was picking tea buds with his family members.

Putting aside his work, Mr. Hoa took the opportunity to chat. He said: “For about 6 years now, tea trees have become the main crop in Cam Hoa, helping our people to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty and change their lives. Because tea trees have given the villagers enough food and clothing, built houses, and given their children a good education...”.

Cam Hoa villagers harvest tea by machine.

Cam Hoa village is located on the left bank of Lam river, home to nearly 140 households, most of whom are Thai ethnic people. Previously, this village was the poorest in the district, because its income depended entirely on corn and rice. Almost every year, during the high water season, the fields and beaches were flooded, rice and crops were lost, and life was always in a precarious state. In 2005, Cam Hoa was selected to pilot tea planting on hills, with 6 households participating. The pilot model was effective, and by 2008 it was widely applied, with a total of more than 110 households participating. The hills covered with grass and wild plants were replaced by the vast green of tea trees. A few years later, when the tea began to be harvested, the lives of Cam Hoa people also began to change and improve.

Currently, the total tea area of ​​Cam Hoa is over 92 hectares, expected to increase by 15 hectares by the end of 2014. And according to Mr. Lang Thai Hoa, the village is striving to have an average of 1 hectare of tea per household by 2020. For the people here, in recent years, tea trees have truly become the main source of income. The highest household earns approximately 20 million VND per month, the lowest household earns 4-5 million VND. In 2013 alone, Cam Hoa village earned about 1.8 billion VND from tea. Thanks to tea trees, the number of well-off households in the village is increasing, the number of poor households is decreasing. Up to now, the village has 21 households with good income, the number of poor households has decreased below 40, the remaining households have average income. There are households that earn over 15 million VND/month from tea trees, such as Mr. Lang Van Xuyen, Lang Van Hien, Vi Van Hai, Dang Van Duc, Hoang Van Che...

The tea area is increasing, the tea yield is increasing, many households have purchased machines to serve the harvesting. Thanks to that, the labor force is liberated, farmers are more attached to the tea tree. People are really assured about the output of the product, because after harvesting, the tea buds are sent by Hung Son Tea Enterprise to the place to buy and transport. Moreover, the price of raw tea is usually stable, so people are very assured about production and harvesting.

Through the discussion, Mr. Lang Thai Hoa said: “Developing tea trees in Cam Hoa is a reasonable direction, changing the way of thinking, the way of doing and improving the lives of the people. Hopefully, the road to the village will soon be invested and upgraded, so that the transportation of products and materials will be more convenient, surely the lives of the people will have many more changes!”.

Article and photos:Cong Kien