Minister Le Minh Hoan: The delightful little green squash in Bac Kan

Oh winter melon, please do love squash!

Despite being of different varieties, you are grown on the same structure.

Vietnamese vernacular philosophy is embedded in the old folk song. Its contemporary meaning is vivid in Yen Duong Cooperative, which specializes in purchasing and processing fragrant squash into high-valued products.

A native Bac Kan variety, the little squash has now progressed beyond the small countryside to establish a national reputation. The squash can also be found on shelves of luxurious commercial centers thanks to local people’s economic thinking and market-based approach.

Could the story of the little green squash alter, influence, offer innovative ways of thinking and doing things, and more broadly, inspire Bac Kan people to look towards the future confidently?

Familiar things often appear too little, too insignificant. When falling into such a perceptual trap, one tends to look for new inspirations. When one can’t find it,  self-pity replaces the longing for astonishment. This self-pity denotes helplessness and inability to overcome challenges. And if one has low self-esteem, one also lacks confidence. Embarking on a journey with a luggage full of self-doubt and a heart full of frustration, how can one go far?

It is impossible to go far if one’s eyes are always blurry and head is heavy. The small squash has inspired the Bac Kan people and justified a truth: “Nothing is insignificant; it is up to the people to determine the values.” Therefore, the challenge always persists until people find a way to overcome it.

Yen Duong’s fragrant green squash nowadays has not only increased in value but also reached other cities. People from other places know about Yen Duong Cooperative thanks to such a small squash, besides having Ba Be Lake’s beautiful and mysterious habitat in the heart of Bac Kan.

Values will accumulate, transforming local products into the brand of the locality, and that brand name will further increase product values. Multi-layer integration of values will grow exponentially and widely.

It is pleasant to hear the Cooperative proudly share how the Bac Kan native fragrant squash reaches the whole country and generates high value. That is how we know success always begins with passion and pride. Complaints cannot change fate; only actions can transform the impossible into the possible.

Along the winding roads and steep hills, under the green foliage, there appear the slogans “Forest is gold”; “The environment is precious.” Everyone understands these values, but why are we still complaining about difficulties? Is it possible that we have yet to know how to activate the potential of the forest canopy?

Forestry institutions may be a barrier, but they will be adjusted to promote the multi-value use of the forest ecosystem. But first, the Bac Kan people need to bring forth an action plan right now, planning areas for medicinal herbs and spices under the canopy of cinnamon and anise forests, as well as other places with suitable conditions. Ethnic communities should also develop tourism, promoting their indigenous knowledge.

One day, those multi-layered green canopies will generate revenue from selling forest carbon credits. The forest will nourish itself and its people, thanks to those who know how to nourish the forest with innovative thinking.

Not every place has a poetic bamboo forest like Yen Duong. Such characteristic separates the locality from other places, multiplying Yen Duong’s environmental value. There are two ways to make a difference: either do what others have not done, or do it differently and better than previous efforts.

Doing what others have done is not difficult, but doing it differently is hard. Try to do good before striving for the better; then find a way to improve it. That is a positive attitude to start a journey.

That journey is to turn bamboo trees into unique handicraft products imbued with the spirit of mountains and forests, and into an experiential tourist area. Then it will create more jobs and increase income for people. As a result, poor households will decrease, and near-poor households will be better.

Ba Be Lake is honored as one of the hundred largest freshwater lakes in the world. The blurry dugout boats with Tay girls in the morning mist represent a philosophical anecdote about an old leper and the widow mother and child.

The anecdote is but a myth, but there is also Widow’s Island and An Ma temple - the resting place of villagers after the great flood and the anger of the gods. Such a myth is also educational and creates memories for visitors on their discovery of Bac Kan.

The Ba Be Lake is priceless in geology, geomorphology, blue sky and water, and primeval forest ecosystem. This ecosystem will be an endless source of inspiration to attract visitors worldwide to contemplate the quiet nature.

Long Tong folk festival - a ritual in the spring at the beginning of the farming season - is associated with agriculture. In this festival, people pray for favorable weather, lush vegetation, and prosperous people. It is full of humanistic values in the midst of the vast land. If we pay enough attention to this traditional festival, it can be transformed into great value and become the pride of communities.

Leaving the dangerous roads to the highlands of Bac Kan, I remember the saying: “There is no road until people walk on it.” The footsteps of ethnic people who have been living in between the mountain and sky for thousands of years, diligently carrying rice, corn, and forest products every day, have now become winding roads. Soon the road will be wider, less steep and dangerous, and more importantly, it will “pave the way” for Bac Kan people. “The path is difficult, not because it separates the river from the mountains, but because people are afraid of the mountains and the river.”

Bac Kan will never run out of gratitude and love. Bac Kan will become confident and better in the near future.