The model of planting large timber forests using native trees according to Resolution No. 18/2021/NQ-HDND of Mr. Thai Dieu's family in Minh Tien village, Chau Tien commune is opening a new direction in Quy Chau district. This forest owner is also the one who restored and developed the Quy duck breed - a specialty of Phu Quy land.
Forest Millionaire
After many missed appointments, we had the opportunity to meet Mr. Thai Dieu in Minh Tien village, Chau Tien commune, Quy Chau district. He is the owner of the unique flower-tree forest in the Western region of Nghe An. Although the torrential rain had just stopped, Mr. Dieu still enthusiastically held the wheel of the Fortuner 2-wheel drive car to overcome the bumpy and muddy dirt roads, bringing us to the flower-tree forest.
Mr. Thai Dieu's immense flower forest. Photo: Xuan Hoang
A red color appeared in the distance on the hills, getting closer and closer. Mr. Thai Dieu explained that the red color we were seeing from afar was the color of young leaves of the flower-leaved tree. This entire area of Tung Duoc valley used to be a mixed crop, reeds, etc. After the land transfer, he decided to replace it completely with flower-leaved trees, mixed in with a few odd trees. With an area of 38 hectares, for many months in 2018, dozens of local workers carried each sapling up to the top of the mountain to plant in rows. Now, hundreds of trees are like one, this entire hill area is covered in the green color of flower-leaved trees.
The flower-shaped trees have grown tall after 6 years of planting. Photo: Xuan Hoang
To take good care of the teak forest, Mr. Dieu pays great attention to the "civil mobilization" work for the local people every day. At the same time, the local people benefit from the road that Mr. Thai Dieu invested in and opened, nearly 2km long, to transport raw acacia. Thanks to that, for more than 6 years, not a single one of the 20,000 teak trees has been lost, not even a single knife has been cut into the trunk.
Mr. Thai Dieu next to the 6-year-old bamboo forest. Photo: Quang An
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It takes 20 years for the teak tree to be planted to be able to make wood. Now I am almost 70 years old, so I decided to save it for the future. The immediate benefit is having a beautiful forest, helping to protect the environment, prevent soil erosion and maintain underground water sources in this mountainous area. I myself do not know how high or low the teak tree ranks in forestry, I only know that in my hometown, since the time of my ancestors, teak wood has been valued. This type of wood is very beautiful when used to make interior decoration...
Mr. Thai Dieu, Chau Tien commune, Quy Chau district
According to the elderly locals, the wood is durable, termite-proof, flexible, and easy for carpenters to bend. The wood has a bright color, fine grain, and many beautiful patterns. “The grain of the wood is as beautiful as smoke and clouds, like red dong flowers, some are dense and some are sparse, each type of pattern has its own beauty. That’s why it’s called flower pattern,” explained the carpenters in Chau Tien commune.
Looking at the 6-year-old flower teak tree, with a trunk diameter of about 15cm, Mr. Thai Dieu determined that after 20 to 30 years, this teak forest can be harvested. At that time, the trunk diameter will be around 1m, which is also the time when precious wood is more scarce, the value of this teak forest will be higher. If exported abroad, the value will be even higher.
Teak wood is popular in the market. Photo: Quang An
Mr. Thai Dieu said that in the past, this forest area had many teak trees and other precious natural woods, but people had cut them down and exploited them to build houses and sell them to timber traders to make interior decoration. Nowadays, many households still grow teak trees in their gardens, but each household only has a few or three trees. With this opening up of the direction of planting flower teak trees, it is hoped that many households will invest in planting forests, creating a flower teak land for the future. This is also what the local government and the forestry sector are encouraging.
The path into the forest is paved wide for easy maintenance. Photo: Quang An
Looking at the vast expanse of flower tiles, many people compare him to a “forest millionaire”. It is known that the price of flower tiles on the market today is from 11 to 15 million VND/m3, then after 20 - 30 years, more than 20 thousand of these paving trees, only need to calculate one tree for 1m3There are more than 20 thousand m of wood.3Wood, it is easy to become a "billionaire"! Not only that, right under the forest canopy is a farm raising cows, pigs..., is a "chest" of money.
Preserving the flower-shaped tree is the wish of Mr. Dieu as well as the people of Quy Chau land. Photo: Quang An
Mr. Thai Dieu boasted that, with the motto of "taking short-term to feed long-term", when the flower forest had closed its canopy, he invested in raising cows and pigs for breeding in the forest. From the initial 50 breeding cows, after 3 years of care, the herd has multiplied many times, selling a certain number of cows each year, so he is currently maintaining 100 breeding cows and hundreds of pigs. The black pig is a hybrid of wild boar, slow growing but has delicious meat, and does not require much care. Thanks to the large number of breeding cows and pigs, each year Mr. Thai Dieu supplies hundreds of breeding animals for people in the area to raise and develop the economy.
The person who restored the Quy duck breed
After chatting, we found out that Mr. Thai Dieu was originally from Lien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. Slowly talking about the reason why he went up to Phu Quy to start a business 34 years ago, Mr. Thai Dieu said that in 1990, by chance, while visiting relatives in Que Phong district, he had the chance to enjoy the Quy duck specialty with its own unique and delicious taste. Originally a farmer in the rice fields with a lot of experience in raising ducks, after that time, he had the idea of coming up here to start a business raising Quy ducks.
Mr. Thai Dieu is also a pioneer in preserving the Quy duck breed. Photo: Xuan Hoang
The first time he set foot on Phu Quy land, he and his wife chose a piece of land at the foot of Chau Tien bridge, close to Nam Viec river and settled there until now.
Quy duck is a specialty of Phu Quy land. Photo: Xuan Hoang
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Quy duck is a specialty of Phu Quy area, but to buy ducks to eat is not easy, because the local people at that time raised small numbers, mainly for self-sufficiency. Therefore, to build a Quy duck farm took a long time to build. At that time, both husband and wife traveled to each village, hamlet, and went to each house to beg them to sell each egg.
A few small things make a big difference, and when he had collected a significant number of eggs, he proceeded to the incubation stage. After many years of perseverance, he had nearly 200 purebred Quy ducks, the first batch of parent ducks. At the same time, the People's Committee of Que Phong district had a policy to restore the Quy duck breed, thanks to which he was supported with capital to invest in expanding the farm and buying an incubator. Since 2007, Mr. Thai Dieu has been able to provide people with tens of thousands of good quality Quy ducks every year.
Quy duck eggs are carefully selected by Mr. Dieu. Photo: Quang An
Mr. Thai Dieu explained that Quy duck is more delicious than other duck breeds because its meat has very little fat, is thick, chewy, and firm... Scientists also analyzed that Quy duck meat also contains a higher ratio of glutamic acid than other duck breeds. However, the local people here explain in their own way, they believe that the food source from moss, crab, shrimp, plus the wind and frost of the extreme Northwest land of Nghe An is the special "input" to create the traditional delicious taste of this duck breed's meat.
Restoring the special Quy duck breed and establishing a farm, Mr. Thai Dieu's farm is now considered the largest Quy duck farm in Quy Chau and Que Phong districts. Thanks to his "wealth" after many years of raising Quy ducks, Mr. Thai Dieu thought of planting a flower-leaf forest in Tung Duoc valley to save for the future.
Mr. Thai Dieu shared with Nghe An Newspaper reporter. Photo: Quang An
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The model of planting large timber forests, mainly with lat hoa trees and some odd cassia trees, lim trees... of Mr. Thai Dieu in Tung Duoc valley of Chau Tien commune is a model of planting forests with native trees according to Resolution No. 18/2021/NQ-HDND of the province, which is the largest scale in the district at present. This is a direction that is consistent with the characteristics and policies of the district, so it has received attention and support from the local government in recent times.
Mr. Sam Trung Kien - Deputy Head of the Mass Mobilization Committee of Quy Chau District Party Committee
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