New direction to escape poverty for Dan Lai people in Thin village

Long journey of "escape"

In a house still under construction in Thin village, Mr. La Van Phuoc (72 years old) recalled: A long time ago, our ancestors lived in Hoa Quan area (now Thanh Chuong district). Being oppressed and exploited, our ancestors took each other across the forest, against the river, and fled to the upper reaches of Giang river - now Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district - to make a living.

Life in isolation in the Pu Mat wilderness is not easy. Harsh nature, diseases, wild animals and various deprivations make the Dan Lai people live precariously between mountains and rivers, facing hunger and poverty all year round.

But when the country was renewed, the Party and State gave priority to many policies to preserve and develop ethnic groups.Dan Lai. Infrastructure for transportation, health care, and education has been invested in; the Dan Lai people have been supported to move out of the core of the great forest, expanding exchanges with other ethnic groups. "More than 30 years ago, some of us were helped to move out of Khe Khang, upstream of Giang River, to settle in the Thin village area, next to Khe Kem River," said Mr. Phuoc.

The new land – Team 3, Khe Moi village, Thin village residential area – became a place to settle down. At first, there were only a few households, but gradually, the previous generation invited more brothers and fellow tribesmen to come and build villages and reclaim land.

To date, Thin village has 38 households, 40 houses, and 178 people living there. Life is less difficult than before, but poverty still haunts. Currently, more than 95% of households in Thin village are poor. However, signs of change have appeared…

Mr. Phuoc confided: During the first 20 years of settlement, life in Thin village was still mainly self-sufficient. Only later, when the State, district and commune built a temporary bridge over Khe Kem, connecting the village with the Tra Lan town - Khe Kem road axis and opened more inter-commune roads, did life begin to change. People traded, expanded their awareness, their children went to secondary and high school, then went to work far away, no longer tied to the profession of foraging or relying on the small, infertile rice fields.

In particular, in early 2021, a solid bridge across Khe Kem was inaugurated, thanks to the joint efforts of the People's Committee of Con Cuong district and the Volunteer Group.Faith. Since then, traffic is no longer interrupted during the rainy season, agricultural products are no longer stagnant, and the road to school for children is also wider. Many households have bought motorbikes, extending new journeys. The Dan Lai people in Thin village now truly have a brighter direction.

Open new development thinking

Electricity, roads, schools, and stations are constantly being expanded, and Thin village has seen positive changes. Bad customs have been gradually pushed back; child marriage has decreased. Villagers have practiced family planning. Children's education has also been given more attention.

In the past, students in Thin village only finished primary school and then dropped out. Now, some of them have finished high school. Young people in the village who used to work as porters and acacia harvesters in other provinces have now become industrial park workers, and two of them have gone to work abroad - one of them is Mr. Phuoc's nephew.

However, reality also shows that in order for the Dan Lai people in Thin village to truly escape poverty, the development problem needs a more fundamental solution. Limited land for production, low education level, a large but mostly untrained young workforce... are existing challenges. However, in the long term, Thin village holds great opportunities to develop - especially in the direction of tourism.

Ms. Luong Thi Hien - Vice Chairman of Luc Da Commune People's Committee - said: The local government has made great efforts to accompany the people of Thin village in the work of hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and integration into modern life. From supporting loans for production, instructing on farming and livestock techniques, promoting labor export, to mobilizing the repair and construction of houses for poor households... In the past 2 years, thanks to the joint efforts of the government and volunteer organizations, Thin village has had 6 houses repaired and 1 new house built.

Infrastructure conditions are increasingly favorable for tourism development. The route from National Highway 7 to Khe Kem waterfall tourist area has been completed, facilitating the transportation of agricultural products and welcoming tourists. The Mon Son - Luc Da - Khe Kem route is under construction and will soon be completed, turning Thin village into a strategic intersection.

Ban Thin also possesses lyrical natural scenery along Khe Kem stream, preserving many beautiful cultural features and customs of the Dan Lai people. Some houses in the village have begun to be renovated into homestays to welcome guests.

In particular, A&B Group is promoting investment in Khe Kem waterfall tourist area with a chain of 5-star eco-resorts on an area of ​​5 hectares - including Glamping Tent Resort, Vietnamese ethnic cultural village, health care tourism, green technology raw material forest... The formation of the resort will lead to the demand for community tourism services, opening up great opportunities for the development of Thin village.

Ms. Luong Thi Hien - Vice Chairman of Luc Da Commune People's Committee said: The necessary and sufficient conditions are to have programs, research projects, investment and guidance for the people of Thin village to do tourism. When the production mindset changes, it will create new strengths for the people of Dan Lai here to "escape" from hunger and poverty./.