Nurturing green seeds for the future in Aur village

Aur is a remote village located in the middle of the majestic Truong Son mountain range, currently with 23 households and nearly 100 people, most of whom are Co Tu people. There are no convenient roads, no phone signal, life mainly depends on slash-and-burn farming, animal husbandry and forest protection. Despite the many difficulties, they still persevere in clinging to the land, clinging to the forest, preserving the traditional culture of their ancestors.

Mr. Ating Del, Head of Aur village, shared that although life is still full of hardships, villagers are still united, helping each other, educating their children to preserve the traditional cultural identity of the village as well as protecting the living environment of the community.

Because of this uniqueness, Aur village is a "meeting place" for volunteers from all over the country who have never met each other but share the same outlook on life: loving nature, protecting the environment and sharing with the community.

To reach Aur village, the truck carrying hundreds of seedlings of jackfruit, mango, guava, star apple, coconut, durian, and some woody plants along with bags of dried mackerel and anchovies had to struggle to cross a deep, rocky stream.

When the car stopped at the edge of the forest, the villagers of Aur were waiting, carrying sacks of seedlings and food through the forest back to their village. After crossing 9km of forest road and walking for 5 hours, the group finally arrived at the small village located at an altitude of more than 1,000m above sea level.

From the project “A Little Vietnam”, enthusiastic young people not only gave gifts, but also crossed streams and climbed up hills to the fields with the locals, instructing them on how to plant and care for fruit trees effectively.

Mr. Vo Minh Tan - the founder of the project said: “We will give the people 2-3 batches of seedlings this year. Everyone will also come back and plant trees together, instructing the people on how to take care of them. I believe that fruit trees and woody plants will help people have a more sustainable life in the future. In the next few years, these green shoots will bring sweet fruit, help people improve their income and, more importantly, increase their confidence to stay with the mountains and forests”.

This trip not only brings necessities before the flood season but also conveys a profound message about environmental protection, spreading a green lifestyle in the young community. The jackfruit, mango, and star apple trees planted today will not only provide shade and sweet fruit, but in the long term will help stabilize the soil, retain water, improve the ecology and increase income for the people. The seedlings given today not only sprout on the land of Aur village, but also demonstrate the responsibility of young people in preserving and protecting the environment, practically sharing love with the people of the highlands.