“The river then was full of hyacinth and looked like a moor. My husband and I soaked in the river day and night to pick up all the hyacinth. We fished and caught shrimp and fish. Finally, the orchard of thousands of litchis took shape,” the woman said.

Pham Thi Liem in Dong Man ecotourism zone said she and her husband spent tens of years creating a beautiful litchi orchard in Thanh Ha, the homeland of litchi, now famous all over the world.

From the river of hyacinth to the orchard of litchis

The vast fields in Thanh Ha have begun turning red as litchis are ripening. Visitors flock to the fields in Dong Man to experience the harvesting of red litchis.

In the middle of the litchi-laden orchard surrounded by the romantic river, Liem was seen inviting two visitors from Can Tho to see the first ripe litchis. 

In 1997, the couple began cultivating fruit on Dong Man land. It was a deserted field with a river and dense canals.

Liem said she and her husband sweated blood and tears. In summer, they went to work in the field at 3.30 am. After that, they went home and had breakfast in a hurry. She stayed at home to sell groceries, while her husband continued working in the litchi field.

“We cleaned up the river, cleared all the hyacinth. My husband and I were immersed in the river day and night to pick up duckweed. We worked hard, with no free day, caught fish and shrimp to make our living and raise our children,” she recalled.

Pointing to the concrete path linking to the litchi orchard, Liem said it was muddy and swampy in the past. The couple spent all the money they had to build a road. Day and night, Liem and her husband carried soil and rocks to build the road, and step by step, a litchi orchard appeared. Like other locals, the couple grew litchis for sale as fresh fruit.

Going their own way

One day, they realized that when they had bountiful crops, litchis only sold at low prices, and they could only sell litchis at high prices when they had a lean harvest. They believed that they needed to do something to obtain more sustainable value.

Realizing that the homeland not only has litchi, the famous specialty, but also a beautiful landscape, she decided to develop agricultural tourism.

“In the south, people develop tourism with just small rivulets and orchards. My hometown has the romantic Huong River (Perfume River) winding around litchi orchards,” Liem said.

In 2015, ignoring sneers by local people, Liem and her husband set to work on planning and landscaping the orchard. Litchis were planted in rows, with a small canal and lotus flowers between each row. The entrance to the orchard has been concreted to make it convenient for guests to visit the orchard.

“Being pioneers in developing ecotourism, we faced so many difficulties. But we always thought about our children to encourage each other to encounter difficulties,” she recalled. 

“I know that only when developing tourism will people know more about the specialty of our homeland. Tourism will help popularize our culture and bring more sustainable value than just selling litchis,” she said.

The love for home and sweet fruit of litchis

In Thanh Ha, many people have got rich thanks to litchi farming. The money from litchis has been used to deposit at banks or build large houses. Liem funded their children’s studies.

Their son is studying at Daegu University in South Korea, while his younger sister is in Finland.

“I have gone two thirds of the way in building the orchard. Based on the trend and travelers’ taste, I will develop a model of ecotourism with the natural beauty of litchi trees and river landscape preserved,” she said.

Travelers will be able to enjoy the unique beauty amid the litchi orchard. They will sit on a boat to travel on Huong River to admire red litchi trees. When the boat docks, they will walk in the orchard under green leaf canopies, pick ripe litchis, and enjoy the aromatic flavor of the special fruit.

In 2022, Liem’s litchi orchard in Dong Man ecotourism zone received 6,000-7,000 visitors.

Lam Giang