Born into a poor family, Kien Hung had to leave the school before the completion of fifth grade. He was enrolled in the army and in 1989, demobilized, then worked with the Enterprise for reparation of fluvial boats, Hau Giang province. With a passionate predilection on mechanics, after two years, when he quits the enterprise for his native village, Kien Hung becomes a reputed mechano. During his first days in the job, he’s specialised in fabricating and repairing machines for stripping off paddy grains. Then, accidentally, one day, Mr. Ba Ngoan, a farmer heriditarily linked with the arachid plants, came to see Kien Hung asking for help by trial fabrication of the machine for cleaving crust of arachid/

Cau Ngang district, with immense sand dunes spreading out as far as the eyes can reach, since long known as “the realm” of arachid plants. By nights, the whole family, at times, some neighbouring families assemble together to cleave crust of arachid till dawn for in time delivering to clients. Work being not so exhausting, but sufficient to make children numb at all their fingers’ tip, and in the next morning, they feel sleepy at the class.

During the rainy season of 1995, Kien Hung brings his toolkit (lathe, welder…) to stay at Ba Ngoan’s  home for starting to work. Detaching the wooden barrel of the house owner, Kien Hung got to know that if he applies the principle of knocking/ striking force, then the rate of crushed grains shall be very high, and it is difficult to meet requirement. He decides to shift to the principle using pressure force. So, during nearly ten nights being fully awake, with a pencil and a note book to draw and erase repeatedly; at last he stopped at a model imitating the mini rice mill.

Over a month, he had to toss and turn for trying and trying again so that after tens of times he could find out a most appropriate regime of operation. The day of successful trial operation, Mr. Ba Ngoan and the “non specialised engineer” Kien Hung both weep with joy. In the  arachid crippong of that year, Mr. Ba Ngoan at Ben Kinh hamlet got the first ever machine for cleaving crust of arachid with a  capacity of 50 large baskets of arachid crust/ hour, equivalent to 40 days of handy labour.

“Mr. Paddy” (*) in the period of integration

The fact that young farmer Kien Hung has successfully invented the machine for cleaving crust of arachid contribute to deal with an important link, creating favourable opportunity to the Cau Ngang district’s farmers as well as to the whole Tra Vinh province for rapidly expanding the arachid area up to tens of times as compared with previous crops. Many households have boldy planted several hectares of arachid. Starting from arachid plants, not a few farmer, mostly Khmer ones have got rid of poverty and stretched up to well - to - do peasants. Since then until now, the Kien Hung mechanical enterprise (at Hoa Hung hamlet, My Hoa, Commune, Cau Ngang district) had signed contract to produce 17 machines for cleaving arachid crust as per order from farmers all over the Mekong Delta provinces. He also repairs, newly fabricates tens of machines for stripping off paddy for farmers in the region. Over tens of such machines “made in Kien Hung” had been put in operation, not inferior at all as compared with those from Ho Chi Minh city, from various institutes, universities. At present, with support by the Department of Science & Technology and the Centre for encouraging agriculture of Tra Vinh, Kien Hung is continuing to improve for perfecting his machine for cleaving arachid crust oriented to be lighter, more neatly arranged, easily operated, to consume less fuel, with higher capacity.

Now his machine occupy an area of 1,2 x 2m, a heigth of 2m, with a weight of 200kg, a capacity of 70 large baskets of arachid crust/ hour. Price of a machine: 4,5 million dongs.

In a near future, after the “machine for sucking up mud” by Mr. Tran Van Dung at Ngu Lac commune, Duyen Hai district, the machine for cleaving arachid crust by Mr. Kien Hung shall be granted exclusive technological property right.

* a popular nicknam for valiant  farmers in Mekong Delta