In the field of Dong Ban village, Dong Thai commune, Ba Vi district, Hanoi city, 72-year-old Mrs. Phung Thi Huong is hastily harvesting the first fields of the crop. According to her, two-thirds of her life is spent in the fields, more than at home. For Ms. Huong, the field is a blood bond, a homeland, not just an economy She shared that now her children go to the city to do business, in the house and only she is a farmer attached to the fields and gardens. In the past, her family did a lot of work, sometimes 2-3 acres, but recently because of her old age and no one to take care of her, she only kept 3 sao of field for convenience. “In these fields, I alone take care of fertilizers from the beginning of the crop until now. When will the harvested rice come home, you will be assured. Every time the harvest came, the children on the street came back to help until it was finished. This year, the rice harvest is better, from 2 to 2.5 quintals per acre,” shared Huong. My conversation with Mrs. Huong was interrupted by the sound of a large harvester According to the farmers, in the past, there were no harvesters, so the people also worked hard and had to hire laborers to reap. Some houses have to hire more than 10 workers, each 300-400 thousand VND/day. Now, having a harvester is also less difficult, only having to spend 150-170 thousand VND / one pole of field to be able to carry rice home During the harvest time, the fields are always filled with laughter and laughter, accompanied by the sound of mowers. At these times, there are 2 to 3 rice harvesters in the fields. Mr. Nguyen Van Tu, owner of a harvester, shared that he also left his hometown to go to the city to do business in the past. However, after a while in business but no progress, he returned to his hometown and invested in agricultural services. When asked about the income from the harvester, Mr. Tu shared: “During the harvest season, my partner and I go around the fields to harvest rice for our relatives, sometimes up to Thai Nguyen. Each pole of rice is from 150 to 170 thousand VND, in some crops, my relatives lost revenue, I only took 130,000 VND.” The rice fields are as golden as a picture woven from stretchable golden rice grains. This year is a good season, so everyone has a smile on their lips, even though they have to work under the hot summer sun. This is probably the happiest time of the village. As soon as she quickly tied the bag of newly harvested rice, Phuong shared: “In order to save labor, the family had to go to the field from 5am to 9am to avoid the hot midday weather.” “The heat makes harvesting difficult, because my field is located in the middle of the field, so the process of transporting rice home is more “hard” than other houses,” said Huy, Phuong’s husband. People here take advantage of all means to move rice home as quickly as possible, from rickshaws, motorbikes, or even electric bicycles being used as means of transportation. Many families take advantage of the reaper at night to both ensure the harvest and avoid the harsh summer heat.

Rice fields in Thuy Khue village (Sai ​​Son commune, Quoc Oai district, Hanoi) are ripe for harvest Wing Paddy field Thuy Khue village (Sai ​​Son commune, Quoc Oai district, Hanoi city) has matured. Coming here in the afternoon, people can admire the bright yellow sunshine on the stretching rice fields, fragrant with the aroma of ripe rice. The rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see, the limestone mountains undulating on the horizon create an impressive scene. On two rows of trees along the path through the fields, in the afternoon the golden rays of sunlight crept through the foliage. Here, some rice fields have been harvested earlier, the farmers are bringing back straw The afternoon smoke blends with the surrounding scenery, making many people come here to be surprised by the idyllic beauty The golden rice fields mixed with the afternoon sun create a beautiful picture Take straw after harvesting rice, can feed buffaloes, cows or burn… Some people here don’t take the straw back and burn it in the field When all the straw is burned, the farmers will let the land rest until the next season mùa Despite the hard work, the bright smiles of the farmers in the suburbs of Hanoi during the ripe rice season are peaceful. Many people in the countryside take advantage of cycling to exercise and look at the ripe and golden rice fields in the afternoon sun Currently, the rice fields are gradually shrinking, instead of industrial zones, high-rise buildings or other crops “The buffalo is the head of the business” – a familiar image of a Vietnamese village People return home after a hard day’s work

Last year, Le Thuy flooded, the water was immense, fish, shrimp, and alluvium also followed the water and stayed in the fields. After the flood, the land is fertile, most of the crops grown down are green. I remember when I went back to my hometown after Tet, I went to the market to buy a bunch of big, young green cabbage that was delicious to the eyes, but had 2,000 VND. Buying 10,000 cucumbers, the old lady selling melons filled a basket. I said : – Your teeth give a lot? She laughs: -Like I sold it, one day she sold nearly 1 basket but got 6,000.. The immense rice fields in the countryside this year also have a good harvest, a yellow color stretching to the foot of the distant mountain. The rice heads bowed heavily, covering the whole road separating the fields. The wind about the rice waves keeps undulating, it feels like standing in front of the sea but the waves are peaceful and golden. In my hometown, many houses still keep the new custom of offering rice. Every season of ripe rice, people reap the first field, after threshing (previously using human power or cattle to pedal, later with a continuous harvester, only packed grain rice was brought back). let the rice dry in the sun. Select the field with good rice varieties, then threshing and drying separately. When the rice is dried (in the sun and dry enough for long-term storage), it is milled, pounded, gradually, sieved (later milled by machine), giving white rice grains. Use that rice to wash with clear stone well water and then blow the rice with a wood stove. You have to be careful with the fire so that the top rice grains are white and fragrant, and the bottom is just scorched yellow. Choose a young hen to start jumping (the new hens begin to lay the first eggs), at this time there have been a few thunderstorms at the beginning of the season, when it rains, the termites fly out, the villagers are used to thunderstorms. When I see termites flying out, I know that after 5 to 10 minutes, it will stop raining. The termites flew out, met the wet rain, swooped down to the ground, lost their wings and ran away like small round meatballs. Chickens eat that termite, the meat is fragrant and golden. A new tray of rice is placed to worship heaven and earth, the gods, the ancestors only have a large plate of white new rice mixed with pieces of yellow burnt rice, on top of which is left over a fertile yellow boiled hen and a A plate of crushed roasted seeds with chili peppers accompanied by 1 lemon cut in half. The owner lights 3 incense sticks to pray to Heaven, Earth, Gods, and Ancestors to come back to eat a new meal, to bless and protect the whole family for a year of peace, a bountiful and prosperous next season. Looking at the new tray of rice, though simple but full of herbs, farmers still tell each other that when making new rice, people must be clean and clean in their thoughts, and the mind must be good to cook a full fragrant, boiled meal. The hen is brightly colored and neatly shaped. Old farmers looking at the tray of rice can know the happiness of the house, know if the next year’s crop is better or worse. With the new tray of rice used for offerings, the elderly eat first, then the people who work in the fields have the most merit, then divide it among the children and divide it equally among all members of the family. have his share. Fresh and fragrant rice, sweet and fatty chicken pieces, roasted salt seeds pounded with hot, spicy chili peppers, crispy golden pieces call back a whole heaven of memories of the new rice seasons that have passed in life. In the new meal, family members remind about the lost family members, those who are far away from home… So many people keep holding a bowl of rice and remember to eat. My family also grows rice, so since I was young, I always eat new rice. Eat from when you know how to eat, from the time when your grandparents are still there until your grandparents return to the crane world in turn. Every new rice season, I try to arrange to bring my baby home. Show me the ripe rice season, let me know my hometown. My father sometimes asked his grandchildren to burn incense on the ancestral altar during the new meal, without a word of instruction, the children just followed, but now everyone knows how to light incense sticks straight, not letting the incense fall go out. The children always know how old their great-grandparents died, who went away in the family, who died… I remember that every year when we offer new rice, we share our chicken meat with our children. Ma said: – Ma doesn’t like chicken, I hate eating chicken… The chicken was delicious, but there was little, so the kids were very happy, and saved for a bigger piece compared to each other. Later, when I grew up, I knew how to give a little bit of delicious fat to my children. My health is not good, or I am sick. Every time the plating hurts, the kids often cook chicken porridge for the plating. Ma only eats porridge with water. Chicken doesn’t really like to eat now because it’s old now, has weak teeth, and hates eating chicken because it has teeth. I just wish, if there is no disease, I will take my children home. In the middle of the field, stop and fill your chest with the new scent of rice. And come back to eat new rice. New rice for me now is also eating, remembering… eating love…

Monarch’s electric plow. Photo: CNN CNN channel (USA) said that the plow was programmed to perform the tasks of digging trenches and reaping and harvesting. Manufacturer Monarch says this electric plow can work for 10 consecutive hours after 5 hours of charging. Although there is no operator, but based on US regulations, the plow is designed to be operated remotely. Thus, the operator can remotely command the plow to stop working when necessary. The plow is also equipped with sensors to avoid collisions with livestock and works automatically next to farmers. Monarch claims that when these electric plows come to market, they can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 53 tons per year, equivalent to the emissions of 14 gasoline-powered cars. In addition, this electric plow has the ability to collect data during operation, helping to provide information about crops and support for farmers to promptly handle arising problems such as lack of irrigation water. … Below is a video simulating the operation of the plow published by Monarch: Monarch expects to sell the first plow in the next two months to farmers in California, Washington and Oregon for an expected price of $50,000. These farmers will work with Monarch to perfect the electric device. Monarch expects to mass produce electric plows by the end of this year. According to Monarch, the electric plow can save farmers thousands of dollars a year in fuel and labor.

“Take long distance water” – survive where there is no water

Every day 11-year-old Nya has to walk barefoot to get some standing water from a shallow lake a half-day walk from her home. Go then go, go and go. Almost all day walking. I have been walking like that for 7 months a year.

But even if she walked this far, the amount of water Nya took back was not much. It was also very hard to get water. Nya had to dig a small hole in the shallow bed of the lake, pick up each handful of soil so that the little remaining water would flow and that hole. I have to wait a long time to scoop a bucket of water into the can. But the water is cool, leaving the water to settle for a long time still does not get rid of the dirt.

The book Taking Long Distance is based on the true story of Salve Dut. Photo: Pham Thuy.

Salva was only 11 years old when she had to flee the war and lost her family. From Sudan, I joined a group of refugees heading east, back to Ethiopia. On the way, they experienced many dangers, from lions to catch people, to groups of robbers along the way.

But there is nothing more terrible than not having water. They crossed the hot desert with little water in hand. A lot of people did not make it out of the desert. The remainder of those who reach a refugee camp in Ethiopia cannot stay there forever as the refugee camp will be closed. Salva is one of the rare children raised in a refugee camp and adopted by an American family.

Take long distance water is a book written on the true story of Salva Dut, one of hundreds of children lost in the Second Sudanese Civil War that broke out in 1983. After 15 years of living in America, Salva returned to her homeland and began drilling wells throughout the villages bringing water back to the people, for kids like Nya who no longer have to walk long distances to get water.

“The boy reap the wind” – survives where there is no electricity

In 2000, there was no electricity in the place where William Kamkwamba lived. It’s a tiny African country called Malawi, where electricity is not easily accessible because the price is too expensive and difficult to get in.

Because there is no electricity, the daily activities must be done early and they go to bed at 7pm. In the dark, William could not study, could not read, even went to the toilet and could not see anything.

William Kamkwamba’s book The Boy Windbreaker documents the electric journey back to the village. Photo: Thien Ai.

But refusing to accept fate, William fumbles himself to generate electricity … a homemade windmill. This mill was made from discarded materials in a junkyard near William’s house. Those were broken plastic pipes, discarded sheet metal, battery out of battery, and most importantly, his father’s old bicycle.

William’s dream is not merely to create a windmill, but to further bring electricity to his villagers and change his country.

Book The boy reaped the wind He has recorded his journey from a naive young William just playing to becoming a TED speaker telling his story to many people, graduating from Dartmouth College and returning to build his homeland.

“Little homeland” – survived in a violent war

Born and raised in Burundi, a small country in Central Africa, Gaby thought he would have a peaceful childhood, just going to bathe in the river and steal mango all day. But where Gaby lived, the two main ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi, had a great deal of hatred.

Hutu people make up the majority of this land, although their bodies are small, they have a very large nose. The Tutsi, on the other hand, was tall, thin with a delicate nose. And war broke out between the Hutu and the Tutsi, they fought because their noses were not the same.

The Little Homeland book reveals the curtain of genocide in Africa. Photo: Young Publishing House.

That was the beginning of the horrific genocide that took place in Burundi and neighboring Rwanda, which took place 100 days in 1994. Gaby was built on the author Gaël Faye himself, who witnessed the violent war. then he was forced to leave his homeland.

The genocide in 1994 was a bloody event in Africa that no one wanted to talk about in the world. And to break the fog that envelops that truth, in 2013, Gaël Faye returned home, composing music and writing books about the event.

Book Small homeland He won the 2016 Teen Goncourt Award, which is translated into 36 languages ​​and shows the world the best of what happened to the children of Africa.