Morning enthusiasm in Thach Ngan

From here, help villages at risk of no longer having Party cells to consolidate their grassroots Party organizations, creating the premise for people to build a new life.

Building "nucleus" from villages

Thach Son Village, Thach Ngan Commune (Con Cuong)is a resettlement village with 55 Dan Lai ethnic households living. After 15 years since the difficult days of settling down, the lives of the people in the village have gradually improved. On the Pu Khong range, dozens of hectares of acacia trees stretch out lushly. Along with 8 hectares of rice and vegetables cultivated effectively, it has created a sustainable livelihood for the Dan Lai people to live with peace of mind on the new land.

Head of Thach Son village, Thach Ngan commune (Con Cuong) Le Van Hao at his family's acacia planting model. Photo: Thanh Quynh

Pointing to 3 hectares of lush acacia on Pu Khong hill, Party Secretary of Thach Ngan commune Nguyen Dam Minh said that it was a model of party member, Head of Thach Son village Le Van Hao (born 1984) - the first person to boldly deploy the model to encourage Dan Lai people to reclaim wasteland and infertile land to plant industrial acacia in the area; at the same time, practice growing wet rice and building livestock barns to develop the economy.

When he gradually overcame poverty, Le Van Hao accompanied the local Party Committee and government to create resources to develop party members and strengthen the village party cell.

In 2007, Thach Son village did not have a Party cell. As the village chief, Le Van Hao understood that developing a strong grassroots Party organization was the premise to help the village develop, in which Party members must know how to lead people to build a new life. Therefore, he advised and actively accompanied the commune and district Party committees to encourage and motivate typical individuals to cultivate and train to join the Party.

Ethnic minorities in Thach Ngan have abandoned the practice of slash-and-burn farming and shifting cultivation to reclaim wasteland together, focus on growing rice, and develop production. Photo: Thanh Quynh

The campaign was divided into two directions, targeting two main forces: young people with capacity and qualifications, and the village elders, village chiefs, and prestigious people who are trusted by the villagers. Thanks to that, in 2007, the Thach Son village Party Cell was established with 5 party members. Up to now, the cell has grown to 8 party members... More importantly, the people's awareness of the Party has had many positive changes.

Le Van Hao confided: If the ideology is not stable, people do not understand the policies and guidelines they enjoy, how can they strive to stabilize their lives and create sustainable livelihoods? That concern has urged me to work closely with the Party members in the Party cell to gradually change the way of thinking and working of the people. From there, people believe in the local Party Committee and government to actively participate in labor and production movements, building a new life...

"Glue" of solidarity

“Vi Van Hieu has two firsts. First, he is the first person to graduate from high school in Ba Ha village. Second, Hieu is a party member with the most stable economic model among the young people in the village, with 5 hectares of acacia, 20 goats and more than 10 cows,” village elder Lo Dinh Que (born in 1947) happily shared when we visited.Ba Ha village, Thach Ngan commune.

Head of Ba Ha village, Thach Ngan commune (Con Cuong) Vi Van Hieu at his integrated livestock farming model. Photo: Thanh Quynh

Ba Ha village has 69 households, of which 35 are Dan Lai households and 34 are Thai households. Vi Van Hieu (born in 1988) is a young party member, assigned the responsibility of being the village chief, so he always strives to become the connecting link between the Dan Lai and Thai ethnic people here.

The Thai ethnic people have lived in Ba Ha village for a long time, while the Dan Lai ethnic households have only moved here to settle since 2019. At the beginning of their new residence, the Dan Lai ethnic people had many differences in their living and production culture. They also had the idea of ​​​​distinguishing between "inner clusters" and "outer clusters" (considering the inner cluster to belong to the Thai people, the outer cluster to belong to the Dan Lai people). Village meetings must also be held separately for each cluster.

The livestock herd has been steadily increasing in both quality and quantity, helping people in Thach Ngan commune have more livelihoods to escape poverty sustainably. Photo: Thanh Quynh

To eliminate that boundary, Village Chief Vi Van Hieu, together with commune and district officials, directly guided the people in economic development, provided technical training, and distributed seeds to the people in growing corn, rice, vegetables, and raising livestock. With his practical experience, Vi Van Hieu gathered young Dan Lai people to his model to learn how to do business. Under the cohesion of the village chief, the people of Ba Ha village have now integrated together to meet, carry out cultural activities in the village, and develop the economy.

Regarding the source creation work, among the 10 party members of the Ba Ha village Party Cell, there is one Dan Lai party member, La Van Bay. This year, Village Chief Vi Van Hieu and the village Party Cell have sourced 3 outstanding people to attend a Party awareness training class and complete the admission procedures; of which 2 are Dan Lai people.

A Party cell meeting in Ba Ha village, Thach Ngan commune (Con Cuong). Photo: Thanh Quynh

Witnessing the comprehensive change of Thach Ngan land, Con Cuong District Party Secretary Nguyen Dinh Hung shared: "Ethnic minority people, especially Dan Lai people, always receive the attention and support of Party committees at all levels. The locality has effectively implementedProject 01-DA/TU dated August 10, 2016 of the Provincial Party CommitteeIn order to build Party cells and develop Party members in the blocks and hamlets in the district in particular, and in the villages of Thach Son, Ke Gia and Ba Ha in general, it has created a clear change in building and consolidating the local Party grassroots organization.

Since then, the spirit of national solidarity has been enhanced, the political situation has been maintained, the Party and State's policies and guidelines have been implemented synchronously, contributing to the sustainable development of people's lives."