Leader of the Thai people in Thung Tom

(Baonghean.vn) - Coming to Thung Tom (Chau Ly, Quy Hop) today, amidst the vast green acacia forests and herds of healthy cattle, we forget the past of Thung Tom, with deep forests and mountains, and hardships on all sides. The person who contributed greatly to changing the appearance of Thung Tom was Nguyen Duc Binh.

Mr. Binh is a lowland native born and raised in Chau Ly and became a pioneer in reclaiming this land to develop the economy, creating a ripple effect for more than 30 Thai ethnic households living here to rise up and overcome difficulties.

It has been exactly 2 months since the start of planting acacia in the fall crop. These days, Mr. Nguyen Duc Binh (Chau Cuong, Quy Hop) is busy weeding, building fences, watering and keeping the soil moist to ensure that more than 5 hectares of acacia this crop can grow best.

Acacia trees have been present in Den village for a long time, but in the last 5 years, this tree has expanded its area and become a tree to reduce hunger and poverty for the people. Mr. Nguyen Duc Binh alone has more than 20 hectares of acacia trees spread throughout the green Tom valley of the village.

Acacia planting area in Tom valley of Mr. Nguyen Duc Binh (middle)

Talking about the process of bringing acacia trees to Ban Den, he still remembers clearly the first days in 2006, when Thung Tom was a wild and poisonous forest, the way in was a small path only wide enough for one person to walk. To bring in the seedlings, he and everyone in his family had to carry the seedlings and walk for kilometers to plant the first 7 hectares. Then the weeding and land preparation also had to be done by hand because it was impossible to bring in machinery.

After the seedlings began to grow strong, he struggled to clear the mountain to open a road that lasted for 4 months, more than 3 km long from the foot of the mountain to the valley. Heaven did not disappoint him, after 6 years of hard work, his family's 7 hectares of acacia brought in an income of over 500 million VND. From there, he gradually expanded the area and invested in technology to increase the total planting area to 20 hectares in Den village and 30 hectares in Na Lang and Xao villages.

According to calculations, each hectare of acacia yields an average of about 120 tons, after 6 years of care, each hectare earns an average of 100 million VND in income. In particular, in good land areas, the yield per hectare can be up to 150 tons and the care time is also shortened from 6 months to 1 year. Of which, transportation costs, seed costs and care account for about 40% of total income. It is calculated that each year, 1 hectare of acacia yields a net profit of about 60 million VND. Although that is not a large number, for him, it is the key to escaping poverty.

In addition to the 3 km main road leading from Den village to the acacia growing area, many roads connecting the cultivated hills were also invested in by Mr. Binh.

Thanks to the stable income from acacia trees, he has the conditions to develop livestock farming. Currently, he raises and sells 25 cows and more than 30 local goats. For goats, the soil in this area is very suitable. Goats are less susceptible to diseases than other livestock, and are easy-going animals with abundant food sources. The time for young goats to mature and reproduce is only 7 to 12 months, at which time the goats will reach a weight of 30-35kg/head, with some adults weighing nearly 45kg. With a selling price of over 120,000 VND/kg, it brings in tens of millions of VND for the family each litter.

Taking advantage of the large hill area, he developed a herd of mountain goats using a semi-grazing method for high economic efficiency.

Similarly, the family's herd of cows, which are grazed annually, also brings in a fairly high income because each adult cow is worth more than 20 million VND. In addition to feeding the cows traditional food, he also supplements foods with high nutritional content such as VA06 grass, corn leaves, bran, etc., so the cows grow quickly, are resistant to disease, and importantly, are vaccinated regularly to prevent disease, so the efficiency increases significantly. On average, each cow gives birth once a year, and after deducting expenses, each cow earns tens of millions of VND.

The herd of 25 yellow cows is also growing healthily and has stable output.

His success has opened up a new direction, creating a ripple effect for the people here to realize their dream of escaping poverty in the village community. The whole village of Den has 28 households, all of whom are Thai people. In the past, life was difficult and arduous. Since some households have boldly reclaimed hilly land to grow acacia combined with semi-grazing, the long-standing practice of free-range farming has been gradually abandoned.

In addition to taking care of his family's acacia plantation, Mr. Binh also became a person who worked closely with the villagers to pass on his experience. In the photo, Mr. Binh is instructing Mr. Luong Van Chau, the head of Den village, on how to take care of acacia trees.

For the people of Den village in particular and Chau Ly commune in general, Mr. Nguyen Duc Binh is the spiritual support for them to escape poverty and become rich in their homeland./.

Thanh Quynh