The Dan Lai people in Thach Ngan are learning to develop their economy.

(Baonghean.vn) - The Dan Lai ethnic group is found only in the mountainous district of Con Cuong (Nghe An province) with approximately 3,000 people; in Thach Ngan commune alone, there are currently about 200 people living in the resettlement area.

The Dan Lai ethnic group of Nghe An province lives scattered along the Vietnam-Laos border in the upper reaches of Khe Khang and Khe Nong streams, within the core of the Pu Mat National Park... Originally living in remote, isolated areas, they still adhere to many backward customs, lack electricity, have no roads, and are almost completely cut off from modern life.

In 2007, following the policies of the Party and the State, 42 households with 194 people relocated from Khe Khang to Thach Son village, Thach Ngan commune (Con Cuong district). Each household received housing, 3 million VND in support to buy buffaloes and cows, land for production and forestry, along with rice and money for expenses to help them stabilize their lives from the very beginning.

Many households received support from the government in the form of acacia seedlings to plant forests and green the hillsides. Photo: Tuong Vi

At the same time, the government built clean water facilities, irrigation canals, preschools, primary schools, and provided electricity and convenient roads for the people.

However, by 2012, the households gradually returned to their old hometowns.Because they were accustomed to depending on the forest for bamboo shoots, honey, and fish in the streams for their daily meals.

Mr. La Giang Son - Deputy Secretary of the Party Branch of Thach Son village, Thach Ngan commune.They worked alongside the authorities to directly persuade the people to move to the new settlements to stabilize their lives. Agricultural officials from the commune were sent to the resettlement areas to provide hands-on guidance, instructing people on how to build livestock shelters, how to care for and prevent diseases in pigs, cows, and chickens; encouraging people not to let their livestock roam freely; and guiding them on how to plow, sow rice seedlings, and plant crops...

The people continue to receive government support in the form of rice, rice seeds, and piglets; Cienco 4 Company has provided 25 households with 25 breeding cows, with the first litter being given to other households to raise. In addition, 100 hectares of forest have been reclaimed and handed over to 42 households for management.

With convenient access roads and stable living conditions in their new homeland, the number of Dan Lai households, which initially numbered 42, has now increased to 52. (Photo: Tuong Vi)

Thanks to the united efforts of the Dan Lai people and their trust in the Party's policies, the lives of the people in Thach Son are improving day by day.

Currently, 32 households have built additional barns for raising pigs and cattle, and many households have learned to plant commercial forests.

The village has 52 households and 259 people, and the villagers have gradually become familiar with livestock farming; currently, the village has 48 buffaloes and cows, 50 pigs, 40 hectares of hilly land that have been reforested with acacia trees for the second season, and maintains the cultivation of 4 hectares of rice and 2 hectares of other crops each season.

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