Pom Om people protect the forest

(Baonghean) - After a trip to the mysterious and sacred Pom Om forest (Hanh Dich, Que Phong), I returned to the familiar noisy city. Once, I tried to close my eyes and "listen" to see what I remembered most about the vast primeval forest and the small village at the foot of the mountain? The answer was peace. The endless peace in the remote border area, the peace in the humane and simple actions of the people, and the peace in my heart during the days there...

Mr. Lo Cam Xuyen and the forest managed by Pom Om village.

The road from the center of Kim Son Town to the border commune of Hanh Dich, about 30 km, has been paved to the foot of the villages near the commune People's Committee. The people of Hanh Dich are mostly Thai people, very friendly. It is said that the Thai people here originated from Thanh Hoa province, from Laos and the communes in the old district of Quy Chau, migrating here more than 300 years ago. Now that migration origin has faded a lot. The children of Hanh Dich people now consider this their homeland, and the Nam Viec river flowing through 11 villages has become a loyal highlight in the memories of those who have gone far away. After a firm handshake, comrade Nguyen Huu Kiem - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Hanh Dich commune shared: “Today is a good day to visit Pom Om forest. The weather in town is cold, but it will warm up soon. Besides, the Secretary of the Pom Om village Party Cell is also at the committee headquarters to ask for a stamp on the village forest protection agreement. Wait a moment, let's go back to the village with the Party Cell Secretary!”

Having said that, Comrade Kiem poured tea, advised me to hold my hand on the edge of the cup to keep warm and shared: The whole commune is more than 18,000 hectares wide, of which the forestry land area accounts for nearly 90% and is managed by many entities, including: 10,533.7 hectares planned for Pu Hoat Nature Reserve; about 1,400 hectares planned for the Youth Volunteer Force 7 - economic construction (now Que Phong Rubber Plantation) - planned to be 6,000 hectares, but in reality there is no land fund; Que Phong Protective Forest Management Board is managing nearly 6,000 hectares, the rest is land managed by the Hanh Dich commune government, of which, agricultural land is only 288.11 hectares, especially the area of ​​​​rice land is only 149.32 hectares. The limited land fund for cultivation makes it difficult to ensure food for the people. Therefore, for many years, the people of Hanh Dich have considered the forest an indispensable living space. Digging bamboo shoots, collecting firewood, picking medicinal leaves, catching bamboo rats, deer... to improve family meals all come from the forest. "Raising awareness of forest protection is a strategic task and fortunately, although life is still difficult, the people of Hanh Dich are very conscious of this work." - Comrade Nguyen Huu Kiem confided.

Just then, Mr. Lo Cam Xuyen - Secretary of the Pom Om village Party Cell finished his work. I said goodbye to comrade Kiem and asked to take Mr. Xuyen's car back to the village. Mr. Xuyen, born in 1973, happily told stories about the village and the forest with undisguised pride. "The Pom Om forest is strictly protected by the people. Now, the streams in the forest such as Huoi Moc stream, Mit stream... flowing from the top of the high mountain are the source of domestic water for the Hanh Dich Border Guard Station, the Commune People's Committee, kindergartens, primary schools and some central villages. The water never dries up all year round because the thick forest canopy retains the water" - Mr. Lo Cam Xuyen told the story.

In a flash, the Pom Om forest appeared before our eyes. We had to leave our motorbikes under the pillars of the village's stilt house, and the Party Secretary and I quickly walked up the high hill to reach the forest entrance. It looked so close, but it was actually far away. Even though we were out of breath, we still couldn't keep up with the familiar steps of the mountain people. Mr. Xuyen turned back from time to time to encourage us, and kept telling stories as a way to add more excitement to our companions. Our village has 72 households, living mainly around this hill. Not to mention the time in 2012, when the Que Phong District People's Committee issued a decision to hand over 426.50 hectares of forestry land to the Pom Om village community for management, for hundreds of years, the Pom Om people have passed down the mysteries of the sacred Pom Om forest, and have established a customary law that trees must not be cut down or cut down, because every mountain, cave, stream, tree stump... is guarded by a forest god. To go to the forest to collect bamboo shoots or medicinal leaves, people have to bring a piece of betel, place it under the tree, and then say loudly a prayer for the products of the old forest. People do not forget the customary law, but in the early 90s, life was so difficult that some people took risks, going too far into the forest to make fields and farms. "Now, that situation is absolutely no longer the case. People agreed to establish a new forest protection convention that I just went to the commune to get stamped. It stipulates that fields must be 150 - 200m away from the foot of the stream and far from the forest gates, absolutely not harming the trees in the sacred forest and affecting the clean water source" - Mr. Lo Cam Xuyen shared.

Mr. Lo Cam Xuyen and Pom Om villagers weed the nursery.

Being engrossed in conversation, fatigue passed quickly, and the forest gate opened in sight. Mr. Xuyen pointed to a group of people in the distance who were diligently carrying heavy loads into a large camp: “Those are all people from our village, taking turns growing wild mahogany, mo trees, chestnut trees... to plant in the empty forest. The tree pots were also voluntarily contributed by the villagers, and this nursery garden as well, each household contributed 5 bamboo trees and then joined forces to build it. The villagers met and discussed, they had to strive to plant in the forest about 210,000 young trees to cover the green, so the nursery garden had to be built firmly to last long”. I looked up at the vast Pom Om forest, which was said to be 426.50 hectares, thinking longingly about the love of the land and people in the faraway borderland. Somewhere, people kept cutting and destroying, but here, the Pom Om people were still diligently planting, quietly planting, as if wanting to multiply the good seeds of life in this life...

Mr. Lo Cam Xuyen flipped through the village forest protection covenant book still warm with ink, showing me the distribution of Pom Om forest, as well as the very scientific way of exploitation, protection and replanting of the people. Accordingly, the forest is divided into 4 areas: Pu Ke - Me Khuong sacred forest area; protection, use and regeneration zone; agricultural - forestry - agricultural production zone and livestock grazing zone. In particular, Pu Ke - Me Khuong sacred forest area is clearly demarcated as a worship area, a cemetery area and a medicinal plant conservation and development area, absolutely not allowed to arbitrarily encroach. As for the protected and regenerated forest area, people are allowed to use trees according to regulations. Young families who move out and want to cut wood to build a house must write a request to the village Forest Management Board, and are only allowed to cut a maximum of 12 cubic meters of wood. The family responsible for planting young trees in place of the trees cut down to build a house. “At first, some people had their opinions about this strict regulation, but after being explained, they understood and followed it. Every year, the village holds a meeting to summarize the forest protection work, and commend and reward exemplary households that do this work well. People are very excited, seeing that their efforts are meaningful and are supported by the community,” confided Party Cell Secretary Lo Cam Xuyen.

Now, the immense green Pom Om forest embraces the Nam Viec river like a charming landscape painting. At the foot of the forest, people live peacefully and simply with rice fields and livestock. Pom Om village is the first cultural village of Hanh Dich commune, and is also a village with very high educational achievements, when the rate of children going to school of school age reaches 100%, many of them go to high school, college and university. Life in Pom Om next to the old forest, peaceful like a real primeval paradise, makes a stranger like me feel my heart calm down, before regretfully leaving the mountain...

Phuong Chi