Invitation in Huoi Co

No more worries about hunger and poverty

At the end of the ninth lunar month, unlike the harsh sunlight in the center of Nhon Mai commune (Tuong Duong), before reaching the end of the high slope to Huoi Co village, one feels a completely different atmosphere with a cool, chilly atmosphere. Huoi Co seems to have begun spring when the peach trees have begun to bloom with inviting pink buds, when the villagers are happy with the harvest of passion fruit, upland rice...

Those who are not used to traveling on forest roads, crossing passes, and climbing slopes will be quite “shocked” when they immediately encounter the slope starting from the foot of the welcome gate with the big words “Huoi Co Cultural Village” to reach this Mong village of Nhon Mai commune, Tuong Duong district. Huoi Co has only one ethnic group, the Mong people of the Mong Hoa group.

The road became steeper and steeper, slippery, and full of rocks. Many times the motorbike wheels spun in place, so we had to walk. The road was quite difficult to travel, for those who were climbing the hill for the first time like us, carrying only a light backpack but still felt tired. Therefore, after the first slope, at a bend, the road was full of cobblestones of all shapes, we saw people carrying cassava, rice back to the village, and carrying passion fruit to the purchasing company. The baskets were filled with cassava tubers as big as a human calf, and full bags of passion fruit. Yet the women continued walking smoothly. Young people and men used motorbikes, carrying 2-3 bags of passion fruit at a time. Stopping to rest on the side of the road, Mr. Va Ba Xo squinted at the strange guests. When asked, he hesitated for a moment, but when talking about the passion fruit tree, he became excited."Passion fruit has helped dozens of households in our village change their lives and no longer worry about poverty."

Huoi Co village has 44 households with more than 300 people, of which nearly 3/4 of the households participate in growing passion fruit. The Secretary of Huoi Co and Ca Sua villages excitedly shows off the "achievements" of growing passion fruit of the households: "It was difficult and strange at first. Now every household is proficient in the technique of growing passion fruit. Small households have at least a hundred trees, large households have up to a thousand passion fruit trees." And accordingly, the income from passion fruit of each household must be up to hundreds of millions of VND per year, having food and savings, the villagers are very happy. Thanks to the policies of the Party and the State, the lives of the people of Huoi Co village have been constantly improved and especially in 2018, with the support of the State to invest in developing passion fruit cultivation, the people actively responded and participated in the implementation, resulting in planting 15.68 hectares. According to the Secretary of the Party Cell of this Mong village, thanks to economic development,Hoi Co seems to have changed its color, people's thinking is also more progressive, they trust the Party's leadership more.From village and hamlet officials to commune and district authorities, everyone cares and helps Huoi Co people to have a prosperous life.

Mr. Luong Xuan Hiep - Chairman of Nhon Mai Commune People's Committee said that Huoi Co people not only grow passion fruit for high and stable income but also raise livestock and poultry very well. There are households that raise 40-50 cows and dozens of pigs in addition to hundreds of passion fruit trees; and almost every household has dozens of chickens and geese. Halfway up the mountains, there are clear lakes and ponds. These are where the locals raise fish. Each large and small pond has a guardhouse, the products are mainly for family needs and have begun to be sold to the market. The fish here grow quickly, the food source is abundant, so whenever there is land, the locals immediately block the banks and dig ponds to raise fish.

Along the way to Huoi Co, we were absent-mindedly looking at the distant mountain peaks with fluffy white clouds covering them, halfway up the mountain were the eye-catching yellow patches of rice fields. Looking more closely, we saw the silhouettes of people carrying baskets, bent over, diligently harvesting the rice. Each rice field had a small, pretty hut for storage, just like along the way, in front of each ancient, moss-covered samu-roofed stilt house, every house had a hut for storing food. Warmth was present throughout the village.

Potential "destination"

Huoi Co village is located on the top of a hill, the terrain is not very flat, but that is the factor that creates its own beauty. From the main road running through the village, leading to the houses of the villagers are small, pretty steps or trails hidden under the canopy of immense peach blossoms, creating a beautiful, romantic scene. Walking under the canopy of many-year-old peach trees, mossy, budding pink buds, the cool mountain breeze and watching the grass, trees and flowers of the border area here makes people's hearts calm down, feeling a peaceful, fresh life that they cannot bear to leave. At the end of the 9th lunar month, peach blossoms in Huoi Co have begun to bloom.For the past few years, the people of Huoi Co village have stopped cutting peach trees to sell during Tet and Spring., Party Cell Secretary - Mr. Va Ca Sua said.

We were quite surprised by this information. The Party Secretary born in 1974 happily explained that it was the policy of the district leaders. At first, the villagers did not understand and reacted strongly, but after listening to the propaganda and explanation, they found it reasonable, so everyone happily complied.

That is the desire to turn Huoi Co into a community tourism destination, in which the most important thing is to preserve the local ancient peach variety. For generations, the Mong Huoi Co people were born and raised under samu-thatched roofs and under the shade of peach trees. Therefore, it is not rare to see peach trees as big as 2-3 human spans.

The stilt houses appear and disappear under the peach trees, under the peach trees blooming with pink flowers, creating a picturesque scene. Watching the moss on the peach trees, on the samu roof, watching the pink petals flying in the wind really soothes the heart. “For this reason, in 2017, the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district issued Project 01 "Building Huoi Co village into a new rural village and becoming a model village for economic and social development in the border area" of the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district to promote economic development, improve people's lives, focusing on household economy. Mobilize and encourage people to develop family economy according to the model of farm development, specializing in commodity production: raising livestock, poultry, developing passion fruit trees so that people can escape poverty; protect forests, develop traditional occupations (blacksmithing, weaving, brocade for tourism, improve living standards). In addition, it is necessary to build synchronous cultural institutions, striving to have less than 10% of poor households by 2020 and have 100% of houses spacious, clean and beautiful according to customs and practices.

In addition to supporting people in economic development, building infrastructure, and preserving traditional cultural values, there is also the preservation of peach varieties and the culture of building ancient stilt houses with typical features of the Huoi Co people, moving towards building Huoi Co into a community tourism village" - Chairman of the People's Committee of Nhon Mai commune - Mr. Luong Xuan Hiep said.

According to this project, people need to comply with a number of strict regulations, first of all, stop cutting peach branches. Therefore, this Tet will be the third Tet without the scene of people massively cutting peach trees, leaving bare tree stumps every Spring in the village. In addition, the people of Huoi Co and the authorities of Nhon Mai commune also implement regulations on building a cultural lifestyle, maintaining environmental hygiene and producing clean food to build Huoi Co into an ideal tourist destination in the near future. "Tuong Duong district will also invest in building the main traffic route leading to the village, there is a project, survey and is in the process of leveling the ground" - pointing to the excavator moving on the central road of the village, Secretary of the Party Cell Va Ca Sua said. Speaking more about the tourism development policy of Huoi Co in particular and Nhon Mai commune in general, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nhon Mai commune Luong Xuan Hiep said that in Nhon Mai area, Nha Vang waterfall in Xoi Voi village is also starting to attract many visitors.

In the near future, when coming to Huoi Co, there will probably no longer be the scene of motorbikes sluggishly climbing rocky slopes, instead there will be straight concrete roads and the joy of development of the villagers, prosperity and prosperity in the village. Leaving Huoi Co, but the image of peaceful life, of the clear air with peach blossoms flying in the wind, peach blossoms falling on the dark brown samu wooden roofs covered with green moss makes people feel nostalgic and remember that one day they will return...