The story of the man who broke the curse 'anything a blind man plants will die'

(Baonghean.vn) - 'Anything a blind person can plant will die' has become a common assumption among many people. However, Mr. Cao Tien Luc, a blind person in Dien Chau, Nghe An is proving the opposite.

Visiting hamlet 5, Dien Hung commune, Dien Chau (Nghe An), everyone knows about the 4 sao (more than 2000 m²) fruit garden of a special man named Cao Tien Luc. What is special is that this is the first bad land garden in the commune that grows high-yielding, economically efficient trees, and most importantly, the garden owner is a blind person.

Although he is visually impaired, through his efforts, Mr. Cao Tien Luc in Hamlet 5, Dien Hung Commune, Dien Chau has proven that blind people can also plant trees. Photo: Chu Thanh

Born into a family of 10 children, Mr. Cao Tien Luc (1955) unfortunately suffered from an eye disease since birth. Although his eyesight was only 1/10, it did not stop his desire to go to class and school.

With his constant efforts, Mr. Luc finished 10th grade and passed the entrance exam to Thuan Hai College in the South. However, due to health reasons, he had to put his studies on hold and stay home to increase production.

Despite his eye defect, with his energetic, cheerful and lively personality, Mr. Luc actively participated in the Youth Union activities in Dien Hung commune. Thanks to his participation in the activities of the commune Youth Union, Mr. Luc found his love, a village girl in the same village. In 1980, the two became husband and wife with the blessings of both families and neighbors.

However, fate continued to test Mr. Luc's eyes, making them increasingly weak. By around 2006, he was completely blind.

Mr. Luc confided that at first he could not accept this fact. Seeing blurry vision and seeing only darkness were two completely different things. At that time, he almost collapsed.

But fortunately, he still has his family, friends and neighbors by his side. Especially after joining the Dien Chau Blind Association, with the help and encouragement of the association’s staff and people in the same situation, Mr. Luc is still determined to do something useful to help his wife and children improve their lives.

He recalled, “I started over, learned Braille, learned a trade… and gradually became more optimistic and loving life.”

The 4-acre garden of apples interspersed with grapefruits, using automatic irrigation technology, brings high income to Mr. Luc's family. Photo: Chu Thanh

Previously, his family lived by growing crops but it did not bring high income. In 2014 and 2015, when hearing the news that the government was implementing the policy of "Land consolidation", Mr. Luc boldly proposed that his family exchange 4 sao of land of over 2000 m² near his house to grow fruit trees.

When he received the land, he did not start planting trees but focused on improving the quality of the soil. By regularly listening to the radio and reading books and newspapers, Mr. Luc showed his family how to transform the barren land into fertile land.

With many years of farming experience, he realized that Dien Hung land is high and suitable for growing apple trees. During his trip to Hanoi to participate in the Patriotic Emulation Congress of the Blind Association in 2015, Mr. Luc contacted the University of Agriculture to order 250 apple trees and 150 grapefruit trees to plant in the garden.

Not only investing in buying seeds, Mr. Luc also researched and designed an automatic watering system for his garden. When he heard about the automatic watering system in Dien Truong, Mr. Luc asked someone to take him there, touch and listen to learn how to apply it to his garden, thereby saving a lot of effort in fertilizing.

Mr. Luc introduces his garden to members of the Dien Chau Blind Association. Photo: Chu Thanh

The garden that he invested his heart and soul into did not disappoint the growers. In the first crop, his apple garden yielded more than 3 tons, supplying the market with an income of more than 50 million VND.

This year, Mr. Luc has also planted 300 new apple trees to replace the unsavory ones to increase productivity. If the weather is favorable, the apple orchard will yield one and a half to double last year's yield. Under the apple and grapefruit trees, Mr. Luc also suggested that his family intercrop peanuts. As a result, his orchard can harvest up to 3 crops (peanuts, apples, grapefruit).

In addition to growing trees, Mr. Luc's family has also raised deer for their antlers for more than ten years. To proactively provide animal feed, he also set aside a garden to grow corn to feed deer and cows.

Many people, upon learning about his model, did not hesitate to travel far to come and learn from him and were all taught by him wholeheartedly. For Mr. Luc, his only concern now is how to pass on his own experiences to help blind people like him learn and rise up out of poverty.

Chu Thanh