Clinging to rocks for a living

Every day, on an upland field with more rock than soil, Vong A Sang (Bau Ham commune, Dong Nai province) diligently tends to his banana and avocado garden sprouting from stone crevices. Sang said he is the third generation in the local ethnic community to make a living from rocky fields.

Tran Van Sau, farmer in Bau Ham commune, clears rocks to plant banana trees. Photo: Van Truyen

Through their hard work on these rocky fields, many local farmers, including ethnic minority people, have been able to support their families, send children to school, and build solid homes.

No complaints about rocky fields

Farming land filled with scattered rocks or mounds of stones rising in the middle of fields, like that of Vong A Sang’s family, is a common sight in farming areas of Bau Ham commune.

Former Secretary of the Party Committee of Bau Ham commune, Vu Manh Cuong, said: Farming on rocky fields has been a common sight among farmers in Bau Ham for generations. Doing agriculture on rocky land requires more effort in caring for and harvesting crops compared to that on flat soil farms, as the rocky terrain makes movement difficult and time-consuming.

Despite the obstacles, people here do not have complaints about rocky fields but still rely on them for a living and rise together with their crops.

Having worked at the grassroots level and as a farmer deeply associated with Bau Ham land for decades, Ngan Van Ngu (of Hoa ethnicity) shared: “Depending on the size of each soil pocket between the rock crevices, people have their own ways to do farming suitably. Specifically, with small soil pockets, farmers choose short-term crops with small roots and stems. For larger soil pockets, they grow bananas, coffee, some fruit trees, and timber trees. After harvesting, by-products are used to feed goats. In places with almost no soil to grow, people use nets to fence and build huts to raise chickens and graze goats.”

Sy Van Hung, a respected individual among the ethnic minority community in Bau Ham commune, said: According to the experience of old farmers, areas where trees can cling to rocks and survive will grow well with high yields because the soil is shaded by stones, keeping it cool and moist for longer. In recent years, many farmers in Bau Ham have hired excavators to push rocks to the boundaries of their land, then break them down to build stone fences. Some pile rocks into lower areas and level the ground to reduce slopes… Thanks to this, cultivable land has increased. However, not every family can do this because leveling costs are high.

Forcing rocks to “bloom”

In recent years, thanks to the government policies, farmers have received support in accessing technology and preferential loans. As a result, electricity now reaches the farms, and people have built automatic sprinkler irrigation systems.

Sy Phat Sang (from Hoa ethnic group, Bau Ham commune) discusses farming experience on rocky land with a local farmer at a conference organized by the provincial Association of Elderly People.

Tran Van Sau (Bau Ham commune) shared: “I have been tied to rocky farms for nearly 60 years. In recent years, the government support has helped farmers completely replace the old practice of farming only during the rainy season. Now we can cultivate year-round with drilled wells, pumps, and long water pipes.”

To support farmers in selling agricultural products, Bau Ham commune People’s Committee has also organized propaganda, mobilization, and guidance activities to help local farmers apply modern, green-clean farming methods and build value chains. Up to now, the commune has developed 3 linkage chains for production and consumption of bananas and pomelos; formed 27 planting area codes and 39 packaging codes for purchase of farm produce.

Bau Ham commune was established by merging 4 communes namely Cay Gao, Thanh Binh, Song Thao, and Bau Ham, with a natural area of 97.5 km2. The commune now has over 55.5 thousand people, of whom 27.2 thousand are members of ethnic minorities. The local economy mainly relies on agricultural production. Farmers’ land is mostly rocky soil.

Deputy Head of Bau Ham commune Department of Culture - Society
TRAN THI THAO

As a purely farming family, Vong Coong Leng (Bau Ham commune) said: Every day, the whole family members move rocks little by little to expand soil pockets. Wherever soil is found, they plant pomelo, kumquat, avocado trees. The family also raises capon roosters - a specialty of Bau Ham - both for food and for sale to earn extra income. Thanks to diligence on rocky fields, her parents were able to send children to university. After years of saving, her parents were able to build a solid house. This is a great joy for her family after many years of being tied to the rocky land.

When their families’ economic conditions improve, people in Bau Ham commune also actively engage in community charity and humanitarian work, and support social sponsoring facilities. As one of the elderly and exemplary farmers of Bau Ham, Sy Phat Sang (of Hoa ethnic group) said: When incomes increase, people are willing to contribute to helping the less fortunate, in response to the calls from the Fatherland Front and local associations, or voluntarily helping those in need. Thanks to this, the bonds of neighborhood among ethnic groups in the area have grown stronger.

By Van Truyen

Translated by Minh Hanh – Thu Ha