Self-sufficient food of soldiers on Truong Sa archipelago

Tien Hung• February 11, 2019 15:28

(Baonghean.vn) - Hundreds of nautical miles from the mainland, with harsh climate and cramped spaces, to have lush vegetable gardens is a difficult journey for soldiers working at the forefront.

The harsh climate, the sun and the sea breeze are two "specialties" of the Truong Sa archipelago (Khanh Hoa province). For the officers and soldiers working here, overcoming these difficulties to grow healthy green shoots is a "miracle". In the photo: The lush vegetable garden on An Bang island, the Malabar spinach leaves here are well cared for, even larger than on the mainland.

Soldiers working on Truong Sa Dong island take care of the lush green water spinach beds. With harsh weather, cramped space, and mostly sandy soil, growing vegetable beds like this is not a simple task. Taking care of and preventing pests for vegetables here is very elaborate. During the day, officers and soldiers take the time to pick grass and water the vegetables. At night, everyone gathers to shine lights to catch worms. A soldier on the island said: "If you don't pay attention to the vegetable garden for just one night, all your efforts will be wasted, because the leaves of the vegetables will be eaten by worms."

The vegetable beds are often specifically assigned to each group, and each individual is responsible for taking care of them. There are nights when the island commander and soldiers all have to stay up to go to the garden together to catch worms. Lieutenant Tran Van Tinh, in charge of logistics on An Bang island, shared that here, planting and caring for vegetables is also a criterion for evaluating the competition of the units. Thanks to the joint efforts and consensus, the soldiers on the island can now be self-sufficient in vegetables to eat every day. At times, they can even support fishermen and working groups passing by.

On some submerged islands, space is so limited that soil for growing vegetables must be brought from the mainland. Soldiers have to make use of every small space in the corridors to grow onions.

To avoid the poisonous winds from the sea, the vegetable garden on the submerged island of Thuyen Chai was carefully covered by the soldiers. When the commander from the mainland came to inspect, it was indispensable to check the vegetable garden of the unit on the island.

In addition to being self-sufficient in vegetables on some islands, soldiers working in this dangerous place often improve their meals with simple dishes. Tofu is one of them.

The soldiers on the island shared that making tofu is very simple. That is why this is a familiar improved dish on the island.

According to the soldiers, the tofu made by the army "is of no less quality than tofu sold in mainland markets."

On the island, to have fresh meat, each island has its own pig pen. Taking care of the pigs is not easy, because here, after just one night, the poisonous winds from the sea can make the pigs suddenly die. Therefore, the officers and soldiers assigned to take charge often have to cover them very carefully. After being brought from the mainland, breeding pigs are often quarantined for a long time before being put into the pen for fear of being infected with disease.