More than 10 years ago, the life of Duong Huu people was very difficult, with poor infrastructure and inconvenient transportation because of slippery roads during the rainy season and dust in winter.

Harvesting and semi-processing timber from planted forests in Duong Huu.

Deforestation and illegal exploitation of forest products were quite common. By the between-crop months, many households had to worry for each meal. The unity within the Party Organization was not high.

Facing these difficulties, the Duong Huu communal Party Committee actively sought solutions to socio-economic development, Nguyen Van Manh, Secretary of the committee, said to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty in the locality, the committee members must really unite to improve their qualifications in all aspects.

Shortly thereafter, the Party Committee unanimously issued a resolution to direct socio-economic development in the commune, focusing on promoting the strength of afforestation and the advantages of large area and huge area of bare hills (4,000 hectares). Therefore, the commune has mobilized its people to plant acacia for paper production materials.

Over the past 10 years, local people have gradually developed acacia forests to both cover empty land and bare hills and protect the ecological environment. And the change has been made from here. 

Many families received 20 hectares of bare hills for forest growing. From harvesting acacia forests, the households have an income of 100 million VND (4,320 USD) per year. The number of households with income of 100 million VND or more accounts for up to 20 percent of the total.

The economy of the people gradually becomes better, they have more money to build spacious houses and buy many valuable assets. The number of solid houses make up 70 percent. Currently, people in the commune own more than 100 cars of all kinds.

Many households build acacia wood chopping workshops that directly buy acacia wood on the spot. People do not have to carry products away for sale as they did some years ago.

In Duong Huu, there are currently four acacia wood workshops, each of which has an initial investment of about 2-3 billion VND (86,600-129,800 USD). Many households buy bulldozers and excavators to make roads to the forests to transport acacia wood, thus reducing workdays.

With the advantage of acacia, in addition to building houses and investing in equipment to improve the quality of life, people in Duong Huu commune also deposit money in banks.

People in Duong Huu commune invest in purchasing more than 100 vehicles transporting forest timber.

Nguyen Van Manh, Secretary of the communal Party Committee, said that Duong Huu people now have bank savings worth more than 140 billion VND (6 million USD). Some households deposit more than 10 billion VND. Duong Huu is one of the communes with the highest amount of money deposited in banks compared to other localities in Son Dong district.

Leaving Duong Huu, I was still impressed with the garden and forest economic development with acacia here. Compared to the years before 1993, Duong Huu today has changed dramatically. Previously, at the monument area along Thoi village, there were a few simple houses but now a row of high-rise buildings are seen on both sides of the road like an urban area.

Concrete roads are available in every village and the Duong Huu market is always full of buyers and sellers. Communal clinics and schools have been built spaciously while locals’ life has significantly improved. I thought this was indeed a life-changing revolution of Duong Huu people, deserving the title "Hero of the People's Armed Forces".

Unique forest opening ritual

(BGO) – The forest opening ritual is a traditional cultural and religious activity of the Tay, Nung and San Diu ethnic groups in Huong Son commune (Lang Giang district, Bac Giang province). This is a belief associated with the custom of worshipping the Mother the Forest, the Mother of the Region or the Goddess in the worship of Mother Goddesses of Vietnamese people. That is the Mother Goddess of Highlands, who had a merit of distributing produce and protecting people for many generations.

Unique ceremonies to worship God of the Forest and God of the Sea

While many spring festivals across the country have changed amid the rapid development of society, some traditional customs which have a strong attachment to nature and people’s production activities have been kept intact and well-preserved, including the ceremonies to worship the God of the Forest and Whale (God of the Sea).

Millennial ironwood tree – treasure of Yen The forest

(BGO) – The ancient giant green ironwood tree on Lim hill, Xuan Lung village, Xuan Luong commune, Yen The district (Bac Giang province) is nearly 50 meters high with the big diameter that is fully held by 6 to 7 adults. According to the local elders and scientific researcher, it is thousand years old.

Vietnam's wood and forestry exports expected to reach 12.5 bil in 2020

In 2019, Vietnam wood and forestry exports reach a new height of 11.2 billion USD, up 19.2% compared to 2018. The sector aims to earn 12.5 billion USD from exports in 2020.

Planting large-timber forests towards sustainable development

(BGO) - In order to increase people's income and protect the ecological environment, the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST) is working with the  Forest Protection Department of Bac Giang province to implement the project "Building the models of planting intensive large-timber forests and transforming small-timber trading forests into large-timber ones”. The project has initially brought about positive results.

Nguyen Trong Thanh