Several houses in Thuong Trach Village abandoned
Many have returned to their old villages while others opted to work away from home to earn a living due to harsh living environment there.
With the funding from the Norwegian government, a project was implemented in Trieu Phong District in order to help build Linh Chieu and Thuong Trach ecological villages in sandy areas of the district so as to set up new livelihood for local residents.
Over 700 households in several communes including Trieu An, Trieu Van, Trieu Son and Trieu Trach were selected to take part in the project.
Each household that moved to the new village was provided with VND10 million (USD473.6) for construction costs, along with access to soft loans to stabilise their lives and set up new livelihood.
The project helped build new roads, a clean water supply system, an electricity grid as well as provided local residents with seedlings and breeding animals.
Many those relocated were newly married couples and those who did not own land.
At first the project helped to stabilise the lives of many households who adapted to the new living environment. However, after a decade, dozens of others have fallen into a dilemma as they were unable to build the life they expected life there.
Now there are several abandoned houses at the ecological villages which was believed to be a sort of “holy land” for many disadvantaged families. Several houses are in a bad state of repair.
Phan Vong, Chairman of Trieu Son Commune, where 80 local households moved to the new villages, said those who stay have enough capital to invest in their household business and have gained success. However, around ten households failed to survive.
“They felt compelled to leave due to exhausted fields where they were unable to cultivate. We’ve proposed that district government allocate funding in support to encourage those who leave to come back, but no new moves have been taken due to the lack of capital,” Vong commented.
“In order to survive there it’s necessary to have enough capital to invest in breeding facilities in addition to agriculture,” Nguyen Thai, a local man said.
Phan Quang Giai, Vice Chairman of Trieu Phong District People’s Committee, admitted that many households have left the ecological villages due to the lack of funding.
They are seeking for capital from the budget for rural development in order to provide support for these households, along with calling investment in a 500-hectare cotton projects to create jobs for residents, he added.