Soldiers of the Chiềng Tương Border Guard Station present coffee seedlings to the people of Móng Nặm Village in Laos' Houaphanh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Quyết

SƠN LA — Soldiers from Chiềng Tương Border Guard Station in Sơn La Province have recently carried out several initiatives to support residents of Móng Nặm Village in Laos' Houaphanh Province, which borders Sơn La, helping the villagers improve their livelihoods, develop their economy and stabilise their lives.

The activities carried out by the Chiềng Tương station officials under Sơn La Province’s Border Guard Command have also contributed to strengthening the special friendship between Việt Nam and Laos.

Móng Nặm Village is home to 140 households.

Local incomes are derived mainly from maize and cassava cultivation and small-scale livestock farming, leaving poverty rates relatively high.

Officers and soldiers from the border guard station mobilised both internal contributions and social resources to provide villagers with 6,200 coffee seedlings and 500kg of fertiliser to help the residents improve their economic prospects.

The unit has also directly guided residents in coffee cultivation techniques, plant care and pest control.

As a result, villagers have gained practical knowledge and farming techniques suited to local climatic and soil conditions.

Captain Vàng A Nu, head of the station's Mass Mobilisation Team, said the unit conducted several surveys in Móng Nặm before launching the 'Sharing Love, Connecting Borderlands' community outreach programme.

Officers assessed local climate and soil conditions while studying farming practices and residents’ goals.

Based on these findings, the unit worked with local authorities in Sơn La's Lóng Phiêng Commune to mobilise social funding for the purchase of coffee seedlings and fertiliser to support Lao households.

The pilot project is currently being implemented by several Móng Nặm Village households across an area of approximately three hectares.

To facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technical guidance, the border guard station selected households whose cultivation plots are located close together.

Colonel Trần Hoàng Lâm of the Mass Mobilisation Team, who has been directly assisting villagers with coffee planting, said this was the first time residents had been introduced to coffee cultivation, and many were unfamiliar with the process.

Soldiers from the station thus provided detailed instruction on everything from measuring planting distances and aligning rows according to terrain gradients to digging appropriately sized planting holes, mixing fertiliser with soil, preparing planting pits, covering seedlings, creating drainage channels and maintaining adequate irrigation to ensure healthy plant growth.

Phàng Lao Mùa, head of the village and one of the beneficiaries of the coffee seedling programme, said local people had traditionally relied on maize and cassava cultivation, resulting in unstable incomes and difficult living conditions.

He said residents were deeply grateful for the support provided by the station, including the supply of seedlings and technical training in cultivation and maintenance.

“The assistance has provided significant encouragement for villagers to expand production and improve their living standards,” he said.

Mùa pledged to continue encouraging local residents to care for the coffee plants to achieve high yields and secure stable incomes in the years ahead.

Soldiers from the Chiềng Tương Border Guard Station help Móng Nặm Village residents plant coffee trees. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Quyết

Strengthening special friendship

Alongside livelihood support programmes that are opening up new economic opportunities for communities in Laos’ border areas, twinning arrangements, cultural exchanges and joint border management activities have also proven effective, further strengthening solidarity and friendship between local people and border protection forces on both sides.

The station currently helps maintain twinning partnerships between border villages in Lóng Phiêng Commune, Sơn La Province and in Houaphanh Province, Laos.

Residents regularly exchange experience in economic development, crop cultivation and livestock production, share information on local conditions and coordinate efforts to raise awareness of border management and protection regulations in both countries.

Cultural, artistic and sporting exchanges are also organised, particularly during major holidays and festivals, creating opportunities for border communities to meet, strengthen ties and jointly build a peaceful, friendly, cooperative and prosperous border region.

Vieng Thong Vonglokham, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Móng Nặm Commune, said the station and authorities in Sơn La Province’s Lóng Phiêng Commune have consistently supported Móng Nặm Commune residents over the past several years.

Production support programmes, gift-giving activities, cultural exchanges and village twinning initiatives have delivered tangible benefits, helping to improve living standards and strengthen solidarity between the two sides, he said.

The station also maintains an effective twinning model with Lao Border Companies 213 and 214.

From the beginning of the year to mid-June, the two sides conducted a number of joint border patrols, regularly exchanged information and coordinated efforts to manage and protect the border line and boundary markers, while combating various forms of crime.

These activities have contributed to maintaining security and public order in border areas, while immigration management has been carried out in strict accordance with regulations.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Công Lưu, political commissar of the station, said the unit has processed exit procedures for nearly 350 travellers and facilitated entry procedures for more than 2,000 people in border areas since the beginning of this year.

At the same time, it has helped create favourable conditions for cross-border trade and family visits between citizens of the two countries.

The unit plans to expand livelihood support models, maintain and strengthen social welfare activities, intensify joint patrols and continue regular information exchanges with Lao border protection forces, further contributing to the special friendship between Việt Nam and Laos in the years to come. — VNS