This is the fourth year the Banar people have welcomed Tet in their new homes. They were moved from an area, which will soon become a large reservoir, called Dinh Binh.

 

They faced a lot of difficulties at first, but then gradually improved their lives thanks to their own efforts and support from the state and the reservoir project management.

 

They now have 240ha of wet rice, 68ha of forest, 250ha of cashew nuts, and 33ha of sugarcane and last year, they harvested more than 400 kg rice per ha and 200 kg wheat per ha.

 

The new settlers have also improved their animal husbandry skills to make full use of agricultural products and boost their incomes. The households now have over 1,000 cows, 350 pigs, 100 goats and more than 4,000 ducks. Active measures have helped to prevent epidemics among the local cattle and poultry.

 

Most of the Banar families here enjoy an annual income of VND20-30 million and quite a few earn VND30-50 million per year.

 

The Dinh Binh reservoir management board has invested billions of Vietnam dong in developing the local transport, irrigation and lighting systems. 100 percent of the households have access to electricity and 98 percent of them have clean water. All children go to school and many households have TV sets and satellite dishes.