Part 7: The forest has brought prosperity to the people of Cao Veu village.

(Baonghean) –Cao Veu village is located on the Vietnam - Laos border area, in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park. Cao Veu villagers have escaped their dependence on the forest, knowing how to plant and protect the forest even though life still faces many difficulties...

Consider the forest home

Saying goodbye to the Dan Lai people in Tan Son and Cua Rao villages (Mon Son, Con Cuong), we continued our journey of discovery along the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park. From Anh Son town, we traveled more than 20km on a flat asphalt road to Cao Veu village (Phuc Son commune, Anh Son district). With 2/3 of the population being Thai ethnic people, Cao Veu village is nestled between mountains and forests. In the past, Cao Veu was known as a difficult village, the villagers' lives were always in a state of "living hand to mouth". But today, looking at the spacious tiled houses springing up close together, the motorbikes running on the road, we could not help but be surprised.

Mr. Hoang Sy Phong, an officer of Cao Veu Forest Management and Protection Station (QLBVR) in Pu Mat National Park, said: "Now, the road to the village is better. Fortunately, there is a road so people here have conditions to trade with the outside, develop the economy and the forest here is very well preserved." Cao Veu Forest Management and Protection Station manages 7,239 hectares of forest, including sub-areas deep in the forest, station officers have to travel dozens of kilometers of forest road to get there. Each trip takes nearly a week. In recent years, the forest area in the area is no longer illegally exploited. This is thanks to the Station doing a very good job of propaganda and mobilizing people in forest protection work, limiting dependence on the forest. According to Mr. Phong, in the past, people often went to the forest to cut down large trees to make house pillars and saw wood. But since the forest was recognized as a National Park, the Park's staff, in collaboration with the ranger stations, have explained to the people the importance and value of the forest. Thanks to that, there is no longer a scene of people going into the forest to exploit wood. "We have been very active in mobilizing and propagating so they are very conscious of protecting the forest. Now, sometimes people only collect secondary forest products such as broken bamboo and reed trees," said Mr. Phong.

Electricity has come to every village, people have the conditions
to develop the economy.

The entire Cao Veu village has over 290 households with over 1,200 people. Previously, Cao Veu was a village but was later divided into 4 small villages. We wanted to enter the village but Mr. Phong stopped us and said: "At this time, even if you go in, you won't be able to meet the people. Because they are all busy working in the fields. It's the harvest season." It was past noon when we met the head of Cao Veu 1 village - Nguyen Van Chau. He said: Cao Veu 1 village has 79 households with over 300 people. Of which, the Thai ethnic group accounts for over 2/3, poor households account for over 60%. The lives of the people here are changing every day. In addition to the area of ​​over 6 hectares of rice land, each sao yields 2-3 quintals/crop, people also receive forest land to grow industrial crops. “When the policy of receiving forest land was introduced, people were very enthusiastic. Up to now, the whole village has received 230 hectares of forest to grow raw materials for paper, cajuput, and eucalyptus. The average annual income is also 30-40 million/year/1 sao”. Here, there have appeared typical examples of good businessmen such as Mr. Tran Van Hoang and Mr. Tran Van Kham. They have known how to boldly receive land and apply techniques, so the economy has continuously developed.

The economic life of the people has been improved, the dependence on the forest like in the past of the villagers has been significantly reduced. "Every month, the guys from the Station mobilize and explain the great benefits of the forest, so the people here have given up the habit of going into the forest to exploit wood and hunt animals. Now, only by protecting the forest can people have the conditions to take care of economic development," said Mr. Chau. As Mr. Chau said, the people of Cao Veu village have been self-conscious in the work of protecting the forest, looking out into the distance, the rich green color of the forest seems to protect and embrace Cao Veu.

Cao Veu's Concerns

Despite the remarkable development, the people of Cao Veu village are still facing many difficulties. Taking us around the village, Mr. Chau said: "The difficulty for the people here is still the lack of capital for production. Because of the lack of capital, many households do not have the conditions to invest, so people's lives are still difficult." Although the villagers have received forest land for production, they do not dare to invest heavily. Loan capital from state support programs is limited, not enough to cover the cost of economic development. Meanwhile, people who want to borrow money from banks are not approved. "When we want to borrow money from banks, the banks require collateral. But currently, both residential land and production land have not been granted red books," Mr. Chau explained.

Full version of Cao Veu 4.

On the other hand, the area of ​​cultivated land is not commensurate with the current population growth rate. While the population of all four Cao Veu villages is increasing, the area of ​​cultivated land is almost not expanded. Lack of land for production and lack of capital makes the plans to get rich of many households become many times more difficult. The entire village is currently using stream water and river water for daily life, even though they know it is not hygienic. It is known that in 2002, Cao Veu village was invested in a clean water project from foreign capital, but it was completed unfinished and then abandoned.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Minh, Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuc Son Commune, said that currently, all four Cao Veu villages have a poverty rate of over 60%. In addition, backward production customs and practices have greatly hindered the development of the people. Faced with difficulties, Cao Veu is in need of joint help from all levels and sectors so that people have the conditions to produce, develop the economy, and join hands to protect the forest and protect the values ​​of Pu Mat National Park.

Pham Bang