Living on rocks

Every day, on a rock field that is larger than his family's land, Mr. Vong A Sang (Bau Ham commune, Dong Nai province) still diligently takes care of the banana and avocado garden growing among the rocks. Mr. Sang said: He is the third generation in the local ethnic community to make a living on the rock fields.

Mr. Tran Van Sau, a farmer in Bau Ham commune, clears rocks to plant bananas. Photo: Van Truyen

Through their diligence, these rock fields have helped many local farmers, including ethnic minorities, support their families, send their children to school, and build solid houses.

No stone field objection

Farmland with rocks scattered all over the field or rocks pushed up into small hills right in the middle of the field like Mr. Vong A Sang's family's is a common sight in the farming areas of Bau Ham commune.

Former Party Secretary of Bau Ham Commune Vu Manh Cuong said: Farming on rocky fields is a common image among farmers in Bau Ham Commune for many generations. Farming on rocky fields requires people to spend more effort in the process of care and harvesting than on flat fields, because the rocky terrain makes moving difficult and time-consuming.

Despite such obstacles, the people here do not despise the rock fields, but still rely on the rock fields to make a living and grow crops.

Participating in grassroots work and also being a farmer who has been attached to Bau Ham land for decades, Mr. Ngan Van Ngu (Hoa ethnic group) shared: “Depending on the size of each hole in the ground between the rocks, people have appropriate farming methods. Specifically, with small holes, people choose to grow short-term crops with small roots and stems. As for large holes, people grow bananas, coffee, some fruit trees, and timber trees. After harvesting, people use crop by-products to raise goats. In places where there is almost no land for cultivation, people use nets to surround them and build huts to raise chickens and let goats loose.”

Mr. Sy Van Hung, a prestigious person among ethnic minorities in Bau Ham commune, said: According to the experience of local farmers, the area where the plants can grow on rocks will grow well and have high productivity because the soil is protected by rocks, so it is cool and the moisture stays longer. In recent years, many farmers in Bau Ham have hired excavators to move rocks to the edge of the land and then crushed them to pile up into stone fences around them. In some places, people have pushed rocks to the lowlands, combined with leveling the ground to reduce the slope of the fields... Thanks to that, the area of cultivated land has increased day by day. However, not every family can do it because the cost of leveling is expensive.

"Catch" the stone "blooming"

In recent times, thanks to government policies, farmers have been supported in accessing technology and preferential loans. Thanks to that, electricity has been brought to the fields, and people have been able to build automatic sprinkler irrigation systems.

Mr. Sy Phat Sang (Hoa ethnic group, Bau Ham commune) discussed with a local farmer about his experience in farming on rocky fields at a conference organized by the Provincial Association of the Elderly.

Mr. Tran Van Sau (Bau Ham commune) shared: “I have been attached to the rock yard for nearly 60 years. In recent years, the State’s support has helped farmers completely replace the old farming method that only took place during the rainy season. Now we can farm all year round with wells, pumps, and long water pipes.”

To support farmers in consuming agricultural products, in recent times, the People's Committee of Bau Ham commune has also organized propaganda, mobilized, and guided people to apply modern, green and clean farming processes, and build linkage chains. Up to now, the commune has built 3 linkage chains, producing and consuming banana and grapefruit products; forming 27 growing area codes and 39 packaging codes to serve the purchase of agricultural products.

Bau Ham commune was established on the basis of merging 4 communes, including: Cay Gao, Thanh Binh, Song Thao and Bau Ham with a natural area of 97.5 km2. The commune currently has more than 55.5 thousand people, of which 27.2 thousand are ethnic minorities. The economy of the people in the commune is mainly agricultural production. The land of farmers is mostly characterized by rocky soil.

Deputy Head of Culture and Social Affairs Department of Bau Ham Commune TRAN THI THAO

As a farming family, Ms. Vong Coong Lenh (Bau Ham commune) said: Every day, her whole family moves rocks little by little to expand the hole. Wherever the land is, the family plants grapefruit, kumquat, and avocado. The family also raises capons - a specialty of Bau Ham land - to both have food to use and sell for extra income. Thanks to their diligence on the rock field, her parents were able to send their children to university. From the savings of the whole family, her parents were able to build a solid house. This is a great joy for her family who have been attached to the rock field for so many years.

When their family's economic conditions are better, the people of Bau Ham commune also actively carry out humanitarian charity work in the community, supporting social protection facilities. As one of the elderly and typical farmers of Bau Ham commune, Mr. Sy Phat Sang (Hoa ethnic group) said: When their income is better, people boldly contribute to help the less fortunate following the movement of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and associations, unions or help the needy themselves. Thanks to that, the neighborhood relationship of the ethnic groups in the area is increasingly tightened.

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Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202508/bam-da-muu-sinh-da15367/