(HBO) – Away from the urban hustle, Tan Lac district in the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh is still moving forwards on the path of reform and development. That is my own thought about the land and Muong ethnic minority people here.
A road in Chieng village, Lo Son commune - one of the
poorest communes of Tan Lac district - has been concreted to meet people's travel
need.
The though
came to me when I returned to Dich Giao, the first in Tan Lac district recognised
as a new-style rural commune, travelling on wide rural roads and crossing new schools
with full of students’ laughter.
Dich Giao was previously
known as a commune with low living conditions. Local people’s per capita income
was around 12 million VND and poor families accounted for 26 percent of the total
households in 2011.
How could such
a poor commune earn new-style rural area status four years later? Chairman of
the People’s Committee Bui Van Dinh said the determination and consensus of the
commune’s Party Organization, administration and people were the impetus behind
the success.
Residents in Dich Giao donated more than 50,000 sqm of
land for new-style rural projects as they were well aware that the new-style
rural building would lay a foundation for socio-economic development and
improving their living standards. They did not wait for support from the
government but playing an active role in the work.
The commune has set targets of maintaining and improving
19 national requirements for a new-style rural area between 2016 and 2020;
increasing per capita income to 44.2 million VND; reducing the poverty rate to
2 percent; raising the rate of trained workers to 55 percent; having 90 percent
of its population covered by health insurance and all households get access to
clean water.
Meanwhile, Quyet Chien commune is home to 360
households with over 1,640 residents but it has only
372 hectares of
farming land, including
90
hectares of rice and over
150 hectares of maize.
Most of its people are living in difficult circumstances.
The commune has taken advantages of its advantages in terms
of soil and climate to grow chayote for sale, thus help local famers improve
their living conditions.
With assistance from the Good Neighbours International
(GNI) of the
Republic of
Korea, in August last
year, local farmers zoned off 2,200 sq.m for growing clean vegetables and
fruits. The success of the project has encouraged the commune to come up with a
long-term project for off-season vegetable production by 2020. It will be a new
opportunity for Quyet Chien to develop clean agriculture and improve incomes
for local people.
Vice Chairman of the district’s People’s
Committee Bui Van Nho said the living conditions of people in 23 communes and
towns of the district may still vary but they have been improved remarkably.
Through ups and downs, many unique cultural features of the Muong ethnic minority group are facing risks of falling into oblivion. However, with a strong determination, Lac Son district of Hoa Binh province has deployed synchronous solutions to preserve and promote the locality's cultural heritage values.
If Tan Lac is considered the core of the cradle of Muong culture in Hoa Binh, Phong Phu commune is the cultural centre of Muong culture in Tan Lac district. Luy Ai hamlet in Phong Phu commune is where customs and traditions of Muong Bi are preserved. Luy Ai hamlet was chosen to build a space to preserve Muong ethnic culture. The district is seeking support from the province and coordinating with relevant agencies to devise a plan on preservation of Muong cultural spaces associated with developing tourism products and improving the lives of local residents.
Nguyen Manh Tuan, a Muong ethnic man in Ba Hang Doi town, Lac Thuy district, is known as a young, dedicated, and outstanding artisan who has made significant contributions in collecting, restoring, and preserving national cultural values.
The Government Office with Document No. 2082/VPCP-KGVX, dated March 29, 2024, sent out the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha regarding the submission of the "Mo Muong" and "Cheo art" dossiers to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In the evening of March 28th, in Hoa Binh, the Department of Grassroots Culture (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) coordinated with the provincial Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the city to organize a mobile propaganda contest to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7th, 1954 - May 7th, 2024) with the theme "Returning to Dien Bien”. There ứa the attendance of Mr. Nguyen Van Toan, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; the representatives of the leaders from a number of departments, branches and numerous veterans and Hoa Binh people.
