QUANG NGAI – People rowboats to the alluvial ground of more than 100 hectares where the Tra Khuc river meets the sea to grow crops, raise ducks and cows…
In the middle of Tra Khuc River, Quang Ngai City, there are many alluvial flats with an area of thousands of hectares formed by alluvial deposits. Through the flood season, the water of the Tra Khuc River dries up, alluvial grounds become farming places for people. Alluvial beach in Nghia Phu commune, located one km from Cua Dai estuary, is an islet at the end of Tra Khuc river, more than 100 hectares wide.
Mr. Dang Van Nou’s family cultivates more than 10 sao of crops on the mudflats. Every day, his family often goes to the beach twice in the morning and afternoon to grow water spinach, eggplant, pumpkin, banana… Between the mudflats are small creeks so that the boats can’t get caught in the grass and mud.
Mr. Dang Van Dai, 28 years old, his son Nur carries an umbrella so that his mother (Mrs. Dinh Thi Hoi) has a place to hide from the sun while harvesting onions.
The Dang family has four farming households in the middle of the river with an area of more than 10 hectares. Mr. Do Ga, his aunt and uncle, and Mr. Dang Noi also grow morning glory near relatives’ fields. Currently, a kilogram of water spinach costs about 5,000 VND, every day Mr. Ga cuts vegetables and sells for about 100,000 VND.
People drill wells on the mudflats and draw electricity from the mainland to run motors and pull pipes to water vegetables.
In addition to farming, people also build barns in the middle of the mudflats to raise cows. In previous years, the number of cows in the river was high, but the number of people is decreasing day by day because of the “far from the river to the ferry”. There was a year when there was a big flood, many cows were tied up and could not swim and drowned, drifting into the sea.
Vo Thi Phuong’s 5,000 ducks raised on the mudflats were released into the river after feeding.
Every day, the ducks give about 3,000 eggs. Mrs. Phuong lined the nest of straw for ducks to lay.
Ms. Tran Thi Chan, 64 years old, and her husband – Mr. Dang Han (68 years old) have been farming on alluvial grounds for the past 30 years. They rented about 1.5 hectares of land and built houses to stay. In the rainy season, when the water is high, families live inland more.
Mr. Dang Khanh, her son Chan also went to the mudflats in the middle of the river to raise shrimp. He and his wife built a house 500 meters away from their parents’ house.
Khanh and his wife have three children. The two oldest children live with their grandparents and are going to school. “My youngest child has been here since the age of 8 months, we like the cool, quiet atmosphere in the middle of the river,” Khanh said. The couple often rowed the boat back and forth between the mainland and the mudflats.
Alluvial soil in the middle of the river is always subject to the laws of natural erosion. Last year, big floods caused the land to be lost 100 m in width, many barns and food for livestock and poultry were washed away. Many shrimp pond owners lost everything.
Alluvial land on the Tra Khuc river is managed by the People’s Committees of communes. People who openly reclaim and plant fortune-telling trees (reed grass) to keep their land are given priority to rent land. The alluvial ground is the “gift” of the river so that people can have income from farming and raising livestock.
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