After nearly two years of implementing the ‘Thai Lai - Saemaul New-Style Rural Village’ project, Thai Lai Village in Hoa Nhon Commune, Hoa Vang District, Da Nang, has been given a new facelift with improved transport infrastructure. Also, villagers have been facilitated to access to scientific and technical advances, modern agricultural production models, and more.  

As part of the ‘Thai Lai - Saemaul New-Style Rural Village’ project, a road is widen from 2.5m to 5m. Photo: VAN HOANG

Saemaul village project

In July 2020, the Hoa Vang District People’s Committee and South Korea’s Saemaul Globalisation Foundation in Viet Nam entered into a cooperative agreement on supporting new-style rural development in Thai Lai Village, Hoa Nhon Commune, Hoa Vang District, with a total funding of US$625,000.

The purpose of the project is to support Thai Lai villagers to build an effective new-style rural model; develop production and increase income through agricultural mechanisation support; consult, research and test agricultural models suitable to the locality; build such infrastructure as cold storage, cultural house for community activities; and promote brand name, package and witness quality inspection of agricultural products.

Head of the Thai Lai Village Ho Van Hiep said that the construction of the village's community cultural house was completed in March 2021.

The work was part of the ‘Building Thai Lai - Saemaul New-Style Rural Village’ project funded by South Korea’s Saemaul Globalisation Foundation(SGF) in Viet Nam.

Covering an area of more than 300m², the cultural house for community activities features meeting rooms, community areas, and offices. Most notably, solar panels are installed on the roof of the house.

In addition to the cultural house, the project has focused on upgrading a number of rural roads in the village, building 600m of concrete roads, and equipping 50 trash cans placed in residential areas to raise the public awareness of environmental sanitation.

Currently, the Hoa Nhon Commune People's Committee plans to establish the Thai Lai - Saemaul Production and Business Cooperative in a bid to help farmers build production development models, develop typical products, and map out tourism-trade-service development orientations.

Additionally, the sponsor is also continuing to build a specialised farming area with building net houses on an area of ​​9,000m² and deploying a number of high-tech applications in the production and processing of agricultural products.

Chairman of the Hoa Nhon Commune People's Committee Tran Van Thu remarked Thai Lai Village has a great advantage of piloting the construction of the ‘Thai Lai - Saemaul New-Style Rural Village’ model because the village was chosen by the commune to build a model village in the city. Moreover, the village is on track to develop community-based eco-tourism.

Although the implementation progress of the project was affected by the pandemic, initially the village has been given a facelift with more spacious and modern infrastructure, widen rural roads, etc.

Mr. Tran Van Thu also highlighted the significance of the project for Thai Lai Village in particular, and Hoa Nhon Commune in general, to promote the building of new-style rural areas, and raise the people's awareness in building a new-style countryside.

Impressive changes to be expected

Vice Chairman of the Hoa Vang District People's Committee Phan Duy Anh underlined the importance of the ‘Thai Lai - Saemaul New-Style Rural Village’ project in contributing to the upgrade of transport infrastructure, especially the establishment of high-tech agriculture production areas, thereby ensuring to well serve the production and daily-life needs of locals.

Besides, the project brings economic value, improves the quality of people's life, and promotes local culture, hereby striving to turn Hoa Nhon Commune into a newly improved rural commune in the shortest time.

"The project helps the district gain experience in implementing the rural development model to promote the process of building new-style rural areas in the area in a more sustainable manner” added he.

Aside from orienting Thai Lai Village to develop agricultural production in association with community-based eco-tourism exploitation, the Hoa Vang District authorities have been active in coordinating with consulting units to develop general planning for rural communes in the district.

Top priority will be given to conducting research on spatial organisation in harmony with nature and traditional architecture of rural areas in the direction of ecological urban and hillside urban, as well as accelerating urbanisation associated with advanced new-style rural construction.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Thanh Hoa remarked that the project promoted the role of people in rural construction and sustainable production development. The construction of a model village model as a project is an important foundation for building new and improved rural communes and districts, thereby improving the people's material and spiritual life, creating a good example for other localities to follow.

“The orientation of the project is to create a new face for the residential areas but still retain the fine customs and traditions of the countryside. Importance will be attached to raising people's awareness about economic development, thinking about commodity production, developing economic models in the village in the direction of linking value chains formed in association with the implementation of the OCOP programme. In particular, building ecological agriculture, and developing tourism agriculture into a spearhead economy for people to enjoy dual benefits will contribute to rural economic restructuring and sustainable development", informed Mr. Hoang Thanh Hoa.

Reporting by VAN HOANG - Translating by M.DUNG