New life on Pa Khom peak
Mong Pa Khom village, located halfway up the mountain at an altitude of nearly 1,000m, close to the Vietnam - Laos border, about 10km from the center of Tri Le commune, is wearing a fresh new color. The cassava fields stretching out, the green peach gardens, the immense bitter bamboo forests and the bo bo fields full of fruit appear like a picture.
Khanh Ly - Thanh Phuc /Technique:Hong Toai• August 18, 2025
That warm and prosperous color originates from the political "core" role of the village party cell, where practical resolutions are implemented, gradually changing the way of thinking and working, promoting existing potential and creating strong changes in the lives of the Mong people.
Following the working group of Tri Le commune, passing the small winding roads around the mountainside, we entered the bitter bamboo forest at the end of Pa Khom village.
The guide, Secretary of the Pa Khom - Va Ba De Party Cell, enthusiastically introduced: “Bitter bamboo shoots are the strength of the village. In the past, this plant grew naturally, with straight, tall stems. After Tet, whenever there was a thunderclap at the beginning of the year, the bamboo shoots would sprout from the ground, and people would carry hoes into the forest to harvest them.”
However, without a resolution, people's awareness of forest protection is still limited, many areas of bitter bamboo shoots are cut down to burn for farming.
Realizing this situation, since 2021, the Pa Khom village Party Cell has met and agreed to issue a specialized Resolution on the management, protection and development of bitter bamboo shoots, both to protect the environment and to create sustainable livelihoods. The Resolution stipulates that cadres and party members must take the lead in propagating and mobilizing people to enclose, protect and care for bitter bamboo shoots.
Every month, in the Party cell meetings or village meetings, the Village Management Board reports the results and evaluates the implementation process. Thanks to that, the area of bitter bamboo shoots has gradually expanded from 5.3 hectares in 2018 to 13.3 hectares now. Many households have large areas of cultivation, such as Mr. Tho Nhia Thong 2 hectares, Tho No Po 1 hectare...
Pa Khom bitter bamboo shoots are no longer a familiar dish in the highland meals but have gradually become a local specialty. Traders are increasingly coming to buy them, with an average price of 5,000 - 15,000 VND/kg, depending on the main season or the end of the season.
On average, each household earns about 10 million VND/ha per year. For people in the border areas, this source of income is not small, contributing to improving their living standards and promoting a spirit of proactive production.
Besides bitter bamboo shoots, Pa Khom Party Cell also issued a Resolution to preserve and develop Mong peach, a tree species suitable for the soil and climate, both creating livelihoods and bringing high economic value.
The entire village currently has more than 6,000 peach trees. Some households grow up to 500 trees, such as Va Ba Da's household, while the Party Secretary Va Ba De's house also has about 300 trees. Every Tet holiday, customers come to the village to buy peach trees, bringing in tens of millions of dong in income for each family.
In addition, the Pa Khom village Party Cell also proactively grasps market needs and trends to direct and propagate people to change farming and production methods to increase product value.
For example, bo bo trees, which grow naturally under the forest canopy, were previously exploited sporadically. When the economic value of bo bo became known, especially with the appearance of purchasing, preliminary processing and processing workshops in the area, the Party Cell directed the Village Management Board to propagate to the people to enclose and plant concentratedly, both to preserve and increase production.
“It is currently the harvest season for bo bo, people sell it for 10,000 VND/kg fresh, if peeled and dried, the price is even higher. In addition, they earn an additional 250,000 - 500,000 VND/day from peeling, drying, drying, and packaging at the purchasing workshop. Thanks to that, people are very excited”, Mr. Tho Ba Nu - a resident of Pa Khom village shared.
Talking about the change in the people's "way of thinking and doing", Party Cell Secretary Va Ba De, who has decades of experience as a village cadre, said: "Pa Khom village has 600 people, 99 Mong households with 5 clans living there.
Previously, the village still maintained backward customs and practices, life relied entirely on the mountains and forests, few people were literate, the poverty rate was high, some households migrated freely, secretly grew opium...
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Currently, thanks to the attention and support of the Party Committee, government and functional forces, people have gradually changed their mindset of waiting and relying, boldly shifting production and livestock farming, focusing on developing native plant and animal varieties to increase income.
The Party cell always adheres to reality, innovates its direction, issues resolutions “for the people”, focuses on economic development and poverty reduction. The spirit of mutual assistance and help among the villagers is also promoted.
Accordingly, poor and single households are helped by other households to harvest crops, agricultural products, and are supported with seeds, production techniques, and livestock raising. The 14 party members in the cell are always pioneers and role models in hunger eradication and poverty reduction, mobilizing people to grow rice, expand vegetable cultivation, melons, cassava, taro, etc. The whole village currently has 7.69 hectares of rice; 4 hectares of corn; 48.9 hectares of cassava; 6 hectares of vegetables; 7 hectares of taro.
In animal husbandry, the Party Cell directed each clan and each household to change the practice of free-range farming to confinement and concentrated farming. Thanks to that, the total herd of buffalo, cows, horses and goats currently has more than 349 animals, of which 50-60 are sold each year, generating an income of 40-50 million VND/household. Many households have escaped poverty, some have become "highland millionaires" such as Ly No Po household with nearly 100 buffaloes and cows; Tho Giong Nu household with 50 animals...
According to comrade Lang Van Loan - Head of the Party Building Committee of Tri Le commune: "Thanks to practical resolutions, the Pa Khom village Party Cell has created consensus between the Party's will and the people's hearts, arousing the spirit of self-reliance, solidarity and joining hands to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and gradually build a new prosperous life".
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Coming to Pa Khom today, we can see the colors of prosperity from the pioneering Mong people. Next to the ancient dark brown samu-roofed houses with typical wooden fences, new houses in a modern style have appeared. The steep dirt road with many steep slopes leading to the village has also been supported with concrete for more than 600m.
In addition, the villagers also contributed to build a 76m concrete road to the community cultural house. The lives of the Mong people have also gradually improved. For example, in the past, to go to the central area, most people had to walk a long distance, but now, the whole village has 98 households with motorbikes, 82 households have clean water pipes to their homes.
The villagers have also proactively invested in 35 plows, harrows, and 6 milling machines to serve agricultural production... The happiest thing is that the children in the village are taken care of in their studies, no more students drop out of school, and there are children in the village who are studying in colleges and universities. Even the women in the village actively participate in literacy classes organized by the Border Guard in coordination with the Education Department to set an example for their children to progress.
Taking us around the village, Party Secretary Va Ba De simply expressed: If we want people to be satisfied, believe and follow, the Party Resolutions must come from the people's wishes, truly bringing about changes to the village. And cadres, party members, especially leaders, must be the ones to "go first, do first".
In order to develop eco-tourism and community tourism, the Party cell has directed the reforestation of bitter bamboo forests, planting hundreds of peach trees along the road to the village, focusing on environmental sanitation and landscape. The Resolution for the 2025-2027 term continues to direct the Management Board and organizations to mobilize people to produce and raise livestock, focusing on native plants and animals: bitter bamboo shoots, Mong peaches, taro, Mong cows, black chickens, bo bo...
At the same time, the aquaculture area was expanded to more than 3,200 m², contributing to sustainable hunger eradication and poverty reduction. In addition to economic development, the Party cell maintained the Mong cultural identity with blacksmithing, panpipe troupes, art troupes, traditional costume weaving and embroidery groups, etc.
Looking up from the foot of the mountain, Pa Khom peak today is green and warm in the middle of Tri Le forest. The lush cassava fields, the bitter bamboo forest stretch along the hillside, the peach garden is dark green under the autumn sun. Herds of buffalo, cows, and horses leisurely graze on the hillside, the hard-working hands of the Mong people are busy in the fields... all blend together, creating a vivid picture of new life.
Looking at the children frolicking on the concrete road into the village, the people diligently tending to each bitter bamboo shoot, the women diligently picking corn and taking care of the livestock, one can clearly see that the Resolution of the Party cell is not just a document, but has become the rhythm of life, the breath of Pa Khom village.
People's thinking and working habits have gradually changed. Each family knows how to proactively produce, protect the environment, develop the economy and preserve cultural identity.
The changes in Pa Khom village have become a living testament to the strength of community solidarity and the pioneering spirit of cadres and party members.
We believe that with practical Resolutions and the consensus of the people, all difficulties will be gradually overcome and the picture of life of the Mong people in Pa Khom village will be filled with prosperity and peace...
