Khe Mu, a lush green color symbolizing prosperity.

(Baonghean) - Just a few days of warm spring sunshine have brought forth a profusion of new shoots from plants and trees, especially the tea plants on the tea hills of Khe Mu village (Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong district). Throughout the countryside, apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, bauhinia flowers, and plum blossoms are symbols of spring, but for the people of Khe Mu, their "spring colors" are the tea plants. It's unclear when the tea plants began to have such a special connection with them. They provide them with food, clothing, and bring about warm, transformative springs.

The name Khe Mu, at first glance, conjured up images of a remote, desolate mountainous area, dotted with a few isolated houses nestled on the mountainside. Yet, surprisingly, before my eyes stretched the endless expanse of green tea hills, extending from both sides of the Ho Chi Minh Highway to the foot of the majestic mountain ranges of this border region. Interspersed with this vibrant green were the red and yellow hues of newly built, well-maintained houses. In the distance, glimpses of village girls busily harvesting the last tea crop of the year to sell during Tet (Lunar New Year). The rural landscape was adorned with many bright colors, with the vibrant green of the tea plants as the dominant hue.

The people of Khe Mừ village (Thanh Thủy commune, Thanh Chương district) grow tea industrially.

Walking along the clean, paved road connecting the tea hills, Mr. Nguyen Cong Thanh, Secretary of the village Party branch, shared with me: “Khe Mu is a unique village in Thanh Thuy commune because it borders Bolikhamsai province (Laos) and its terrain is mainly hilly and mountainous. The villagers have planted many types of crops to develop agriculture, but only tea is best suited to the terrain, weather, and soil here. Previously, planting and harvesting tea mainly relied on experience and manual labor. Only in years with favorable weather did the villagers have enough to eat; otherwise, hunger and cold constantly plagued them. In recent years, thanks to applying techniques to tea cultivation and opening more roads to the tea hills, the village's fresh and dried tea products have had the opportunity to reach a wider market...”

For generations, the people of this mountainous border region have lived diligently, enduring hardship and toiling tirelessly regardless of the weather. The dry, rocky hills are already a problem, but the weather seems to relentlessly test their resilience. Some years bring prolonged droughts, other years bring endless, heavy rains. Even tea plants, seemingly able to withstand any weather conditions, wither and dry up due to the hot, dry winds from Laos. Refusing to surrender to the harshness of nature, the Party committee, the local government, and the villagers boldly proposed solutions to the relevant authorities to support and assist them. Numerous training courses on tea cultivation and care techniques were organized, and the villagers seemed to have found a solution.

Under the guidance of district and provincial agricultural extension officers, farmers have boldly replaced their previously native tea varieties with LDP1 and LDP2. These new varieties are characterized by vigorous growth, wide canopies, early branching, and relatively high bud yield (10-year-old trees yield 15 tons/ha). They are easy to propagate by cuttings, live for over 30 years, are particularly resistant to drought and pests, and can be harvested using machinery. By actively applying technical measures from seedling propagation, planting, and care using bio-fertilizers and adequate irrigation to harvesting, the yield and quality of tea have steadily improved. While harvesting her last crop of the year on her nearly 2-hectare tea plantation, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Thao excitedly shared: “Since planting this new tea variety and following the instructions of the agricultural extension officers, my tea plants have provided me with income year-round. After deducting investment costs and labor expenses, I earn nearly 7 million dong per month. I've paid off all my debts and even built a new house! In the future, we will utilize all available land to expand our tea plantation area…”

Tea harvesting using machines at Khe Mừ tea hill, Thanh Thủy commune, Thanh Chương district.

Appearing and disappearing amidst the vast green expanse of tea hills are winding concrete roads. These roads were once narrow, dusty trails, muddy and slippery in the sun, only passable by motorbikes and bicycles in the rain. During tea harvests, people had to pack the tea into sacks and carry them to the Ho Chi Minh Trail to hire trucks to transport them to processing plants. The effort was immense, but the tea was often crushed and wilted, losing its original flavor. This arduous reality made them realize that to escape poverty and hardship sustainably, besides applying scientific and technical methods to tea cultivation, they also needed to actively expand and pave the roads deep into the mountain tea hills. After all, convenient transportation is essential for economic development. Therefore, in addition to funding from Program 135 and the New Rural Development Program, the villagers contributed their labor to build more roads leading to their individual tea hills.

Thanks to the dynamism of the people, the Party Committee and People's Committee of the commune mobilized various departments, agencies, and mass organizations, with the militia as the core force, and requested the Thanh Thuy Border Guard Post to assist the people in expanding the roads leading into the village. Each road construction project was like a grand festival for the villagers because of the large number of people participating. In just three years, dozens of kilometers of winding roads through the tea hills in the village were quickly formed. Since the roads were built, cars from all over can reach the tea hills to purchase freshly harvested tea products. Thus, the brand of fresh tea from Khe Mu village has spread further in the market. As a result, the lives of the people have gradually improved, escaping poverty.

I bid farewell to Khe Mu as swallows began to soar across the sky. Here and there, peeking from the tea hills, I could still glimpse the shy smiles of village girls, the contented eyes of the elderly watching the children in their new clothes playing. I knew that a new, warm spring had arrived for the simple, honest people of this border region.

Nguyen Duc Cuong