A new spirit on the barren land

(Baonghean) - Imbued with President Ho Chi Minh's teaching, "...skillful mass mobilization leads to success in everything," the Party branch of Hamlet 8, Khai Son commune (Anh Son district) has implemented many creative solutions to mobilize the people to develop the potential and advantages of the locality, promoting the movement of planting, protecting, and developing the economy from forests.

Leading us along the winding road to visit the lush green tea gardens nearing harvest and the lemon groves stretching their branches, Comrade Le Thi Lien, Secretary of the Party Branch of Hamlet 8, Khai Son Commune, could not hide her pride: “The road we are traveling on is a road built with the people's hearts. The people in the hamlet contributed their labor and money to open the road into the forest according to the Party branch's policy. The hamlet's great success is transforming barren land into highly effective economic models, which the Khai Son Commune Party Committee has chosen as a model to replicate.”

Hamlet 8 has 147 households with 487 inhabitants. The local area is characterized by fragmented land ownership, and the lives of the people mainly depend on agriculture. In previous years, despite its strength in forest land, the area of ​​paddy fields was only 14 hectares, but hundreds of hectares of forest land were left fallow. Recognizing the wasted potential of forest land, the Party cell of Hamlet 8 pondered this issue, organizing numerous meetings for Party members to contribute ideas and discuss plans for land and forest allocation. Simultaneously, they sought effective methods to encourage people to change their mindset of avoiding difficulties and hardships. They mobilized the people's efforts to transform the abandoned land into forest garden models, bringing economic benefits to the people while contributing to forest protection.

The forest planting model of Party branch secretary Le Thi Lien in Hamlet 8, Khai Son commune (Anh Son district).

The plan, developed and implemented by the Party branch and the village committee, aimed to mobilize the people to plant forests and develop the forest-based economy. The Party branch issued a resolution on developing the planting of raw material forests. To put the resolution into practice, the Party branch of Hamlet 8 organized a meeting to disseminate the policy to the village's Front Committee and other organizations. Afterward, the policy was disseminated to all the people, explaining the benefits of forest planting and soliciting their opinions. From this, the Party committee grasped the people's thoughts and aspirations.

A major difficulty in implementing the reforestation program was the lack of access roads. Therefore, the first priority for the Party branch was to build roads to facilitate access to the forest. They mobilized the Veterans' Association and families of cadres and Party members who owned forests to take the lead in road construction. The program was supported by cadres and Party members in the village, and the fundraising methods were flexible, with households owning larger areas contributing more. Thanks to this rational approach, households with forests contributed money and labor; some contributed as little as 5-6 million VND, while others contributed 30-40 million VND to build three roads into the forest, accessible to motorcycles and trucks.

The Party cell of Hamlet 8 has demonstrated the pioneering role of its cadres and Party members in contracting land for reforestation. A prime example is the Party cell secretary, Le Thi Lien, who contracted 2 hectares of barren forest to plant acacia and cassava. After the recent harvest, her family boldly introduced several new plant varieties for trial, such as food tea, lemon trees, fragrant roots, and some perennial trees like Dalbergia tonkinensis and Gmelina arborea. Ms. Le Thi Lien further shared: “As a cadre and Party member, besides leading the reforestation movement, I had to take on more remote and difficult areas. The important thing is that the economic effectiveness of the model is demonstrated, and the people follow suit, not just empty words.”

Following the exemplary leadership of the Party branch secretary, during the mobilization process, cadres and Party members in the hamlet actively participated in forest planting contracts. For example, Mr. Nguyen Dau Thin, Chairman of the Veterans Association, received 4 hectares, and many families such as Mr. Nguyen Huu Thoi, Mr. Nguyen Van Linh, and hamlet head Nguyen Xuan Van received several hectares for forest planting… Learning from the previous generation and promoting the role of youth, Nguyen Huu Dung, Secretary of Youth Union Branch 8, received a land contract and invested in building a VACR model with 3 hectares of acacia forest for raw materials, raising pigs for meat and breeding sows. After deducting expenses, his income is over 200 million VND/year. His model provides employment for 4 permanent workers and 20 seasonal workers. In 2013, Mr. Nguyen Huu Dung was honored by Anh Son district with the title "Excellent Producer and Businessman," and in 2014, he was awarded the Luong Dinh Cua Prize by the Central Youth Union.

Despite the large area of ​​wild, fragmented forest and difficult access roads, when cadres and Party members set an example, effective reforestation models have been developed, attracting the participation of the majority of the people. From 20 households participating in reforestation, Hamlet 8, Khai Son Commune now has 110 households contracting nearly 100 hectares for reforestation.

Mr. Nguyen Dau Thin, a resident of Hamlet 8, shared: “The Party branch's policy seemed difficult to implement at first, but when cadres and Party members set a good example and devoted their hearts to implementing these models, the people trusted and followed suit. Thanks to this, the nationwide reforestation movement has created a new momentum in this land that had been barren for many years.”

Thanh Le