Tay Son remembers...

Tay Son commune is located in the southwest of Ky Son mountainous district, at a high altitude above sea level. The weather here is always cold, likened to Da Lat, Sa Pa of Nghe An. With suitable geology and climate, Tay Son is always green with trees. Coming to this highland commune, in any season of the year, you can see a lot of flowers. Wildflowers from the winding 12km pass road from Muong Xen; flowers on the roadside, school and in front of the porch of the Mong people's house. Here, peach blossoms bloom 3-4 times a year.

Huoi Giang 3 village is the headland of Tay Son commune. Coming to the village, it is easy to smell a light, elegant fragrance, wafting in the air. That is the fragrance of the forest. The fragrance emanates from the forest of sa-mu and pơ-mu trees planted next to the village. The forest of sa-mu and pơ-mu trees is very beautiful, with large trunks, arranged in straight rows as if regularly pruned and cared for by human hands. The Tay Son Mong people are always proud of this planted forest and say that this most beautiful forest in Nghe An is a precious treasure passed down to future generations so that they can do tourism... And not only Huoi Giang 3 but also the following villages such as Huoi Giang 1, 2 all have forests like that.

According to Mong people in Tay Son commune, the person with the most merit in creating these forests is Mr. Vu Pa Re - former Vice Chairman of Tay Son Commune People's Committee.

“In 1996, my father called his six sons and told them that God planted trees in the forest, and now he had exploited them all. Now, we, father and son, have the responsibility to plant forests for our children and grandchildren. After that, my father went into the forest to find saplings of sa-mu and pơ-mu trees and brought them back to plant in pots. My father also mobilized people from Huội Giảng 1, 2, and 3 villages to participate. Whoever wanted to plant trees, my father provided pots of seedlings.”

Mr. Vu Ra Tenh - Deputy Secretary of Tay Son Commune Party Committee, son of Mr. Vu Pa Re

The tree planting movement initiated by Mr. Vu Pa Re received the response of many people in the commune. Sa-mu and pơ-mu forests began to be planted. In 1997, from taking saplings to plant, Mr. Re and his wife also went into the forest to collect seeds for sowing.

From the movement of Tay Son commune, Ky Son district has also quickly built a support project and expanded it to the whole commune, implementing support of 2 million VND/ha. And also from this tree planting and afforestation movement, people of Tay Son commune have become aware of forest protection. In addition to the provisions of the law, the commune has added separate village regulations on the responsibility of forest protection as well as forms of punishment if someone cuts down trees to build houses or clear fields without permission, not in the right place.

After more than 20 years, the sa-mu and pơ-mu trees have grown so big that they can be used as house pillars or many other items, but the Tay Son people have not touched them at all. They still constantly take care of them and develop them, and now Tay Son has a beautiful forest of over 50 hectares. From sa-mu and pơ-mu, Tay Son has planted many other types of trees such as persimmons, cat apples, etc.

Cat apple tree is a native tree of Tay Son. However, before that, cat apples grew wild in nature and no one took care of them. When the season came, the villagers went into the forest to pick and collect them and then brought them to Muong Xen town to sell. Knowing that Tay Son had this type of tree, in 2016, the Provincial Ethnic Committee came to survey and bring cat apple varieties from the North to try planting here. It was none other than Mr. Vu Xai Chu and Mr. Vu Ra Tenh (two sons of Mr. Vu Pa Re) who were the first volunteers in the commune to plant. In 2016, the two brothers Vu Xai Chu and Vu Ra Tenh tried planting about 700 cat apple seedlings.

This is one of the plants that can diversify the local production model, helping people escape poverty. As cadres and party members, we must take the lead so that people can follow suit.”

Mr. Vu Ra Tenh - Tay Son commune, Ky Son district.

Not only planting the northern variety of crab apple, Mr. Vu Ra Tenh also went into the forest to find seeds of native crab apple trees to propagate and try to plant. Both types of crab apples grew very well. In 2017, Mr. Tenh and Mr. Chu mobilized a number of households to join in planting and so far Tay Son has 7 hectares of crab apples planted. In 2019, the northern crab apple trees are 4-5m tall, over 10cm in diameter, and have started to bear the first fruit. The number of fruits is not much but has become a great source of encouragement for the people of Tay Son to persevere with their goals and methods. Also in 2019, Mr. Vu Ra Tenh asked his brothers and relatives in Laos to bring back rosewood seeds to start planting on trial.

The Tay Son Mong people have a progressive mindset when they no longer destroy forests but actively plant and protect forests. They are even more progressive when they have absorbed the idea of ​​"Ten years of planting trees, a hundred years of cultivating people". Mr. Vu No Denh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Tay Son commune said: Life has improved a lot but Tay Son is still a poor commune. The commune has more than 300 households with 1,700 people, of which about 1/4 of the households are poor.

To escape poverty, Tay Son commune determined that in addition to diversifying crops and livestock, building new people is very important. The commune has promoted education promotion, mobilizing all households to make efforts to send their children to school to become successful. From studying and gaining knowledge, the commune has many young people who are good at business such as Vu Ba Cu, Vu Pa Xong, Mua Ba La, Mua Ba Lau, Mua Ba Vu, Mua Ba Phenh... These young people have built a model of raising large cattle, raising pigs, black chickens, ducks, goats and growing other crops such as ginger, plums, cucumbers, persimmons, and corn under the forest canopy. Each of these models is worth from 500 to 700 million VND. Currently, the commune has over 500 buffaloes and nearly 1,000 cows.

Following the general development, the Tay Son Mong people still try to preserve the unique cultural values ​​of their people. Coming to Tay Son, on the vast hills and mountains, you can still hear somewhere the sounds of the 3-hole flute, the two-stringed fiddle, the panpipe, and the mouth harp. Those sounds are from the artists, the old people performing, teaching their children. In Tay Son commune, since 2003, there has appeared a model of a club to preserve the Mong identity, organized by the elderly.

Three times a month, the club operates at the village's community cultural house. There, the elders tell their children about their ethnic origins and what cultural features should be preserved. In particular, they pass on customs, guitar skills, and how to play musical instruments. On holidays and Tet, the club organizes performances.

Mr. Vu Xai Chu - former Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Tay Son commune, Ky Son district.

The founders of the club have passed away, but the next generations have succeeded in inheriting it. The club for preserving the Mong ethnic identity of Tay Son commune not only exists now but also develops stronger than before.

Artisan Vu Lau Phong said: In Huoi Giang 1 village alone, there are 10 elders participating in the club, teaching musical instruments and cultural values ​​to the youth in the commune. In addition to old melodies, they also compose new songs, dances and melodies... The Khen dance, the musical melodies of the Mong people are not simply labor songs but the history and soul of the ethnic group. It is the struggle for survival of a people on the high mountain top. In the past, his grandfather taught his father, then his father passed it on to him and now his responsibility is to pass it on to the younger generation.

Tay Son not only has flowers, forests, and music. Tay Son has a strangely hospitable heart. Anyone who has ever been to Tay Son must have been "soft-hearted" by the strong cups of wine that the Mong people respectfully offer. The Mong people of Tay Son are like that, guests coming to their house are honored guests, all the delicious food and strange things in the house are brought out to entertain and invite... Although the weather in Tay Son is cold, the people are warm, the beauty of the spirit and the values ​​passed down through generations are still like a bright flame.