Vo Thi Hong, alias Bay Hong, is the first female farmer in Dong Thap Muoi (the Plain of Reeds) who was given the title of Labour Hero by the State in 1986 for her exemplary exploits in reclaiming the land for growing rice, making a contribution to turning it into a big granary of the country. She was then 36 years old.
When asking for the house of Bay Hong in the commune of Kien Tuong, Long An Province, we were quite surprised when learning that she is known by most of the locals and called by the familiar and respective names of “Mrs. Hong driving plough machine” or “the Labour Hero of Rice Farming” that refers to her talent in reclaiming land for rice cultivation.
Hong was born into a farming family in 1950. She is the sixth child in her family so she is called “Bay Hong” – the way people in Southern Vietnam call their sixth sister. During the resistance war against the US, although she was little she worked as a liaison person who rowed a sampan to carry secret letters and documents for the liberation army. This dangerous work helped her become intrepid, diligent and cautious.
After national reunification, the State had policies on reclaiming land in Dong Thap Muoi for rice cultivation with the application of scientific and technical advances. Hong was one among the locals who pioneered the process of waste land reclamation to turn this land into the largest rice production area in the country. Overcoming untold difficulties, she reclaimed and transformed over 30ha of waste land of lush sedges and applied some measures to carrying fresh water to the fields, wash away alum and salt water and spread fertilizer for rice cultivation. She at that time was the only female farmer who could drive a plough machine.
Story: Son Nghia - Photos: Le Minh & Thong Hai