“Keeping the fire” of traditional craft villages in Hai Lang

With the support of local authorities and functional agencies, a number of traditional craft villages in Hai Lang district have made great efforts to preserve and develop craft villages in a harmonious direction between preserving and promoting traditional cultural values ​​and improving product quality, adapting to the market economy, contributing to the economic restructuring in rural areas and creating jobs and stable income for people.

My Thuy fish sauce products manufactured at My An General Production and Trading Joint Stock Company - Photo: D.V

Formed more than 500 years ago, the traditional fish sauce making profession in My Thuy village, Hai An commune has been preserved and developed well by the people to this day. My Thuy fish sauce is known and loved by customers near and far for its quintessential quality and distinctive flavor. The main raw materials used to make My Thuy fish sauce are locally caught seafood and imported raw materials (chop) from Cua Viet, Thuan An (Hue).

From small-scale production, the fish sauce processing industry in My Thuy has gradually become organized and connected. To meet large orders, in 2020, the My Thuy Fish Sauce Production Cooperative was established with 5 participating households. Up to now, the group sells an average of 10,000 liters of fish sauce to the market each month.

Mr. Dang Hai Nhan, Head of the My Thuy Fish Sauce Production Cooperative, said that by participating in the cooperative, households not only connect to consume fish sauce better but also share and support each other in terms of experience, apply science and technology in production and protect the environment. In 2021, the cooperative's fish sauce products were certified as 3-star OCOP products.

Along with that, My Thuy fish sauce product of My An General Trading Production Joint Stock Company, Hai An commune was also recognized by the Provincial People's Committee for product classification and granted a 4-star OCOP product certificate in 2022.

Vice Chairman of Hai An Commune People's Committee Nguyen Cong Tuan informed: In 2012, Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee recognized My Thuy fish sauce traditional craft village. In 2018, My Thuy fish sauce traditional craft village was granted a My Thuy fish sauce trademark certificate by the Intellectual Property Office. Currently, the entire My Thuy village has 41 households participating in fish sauce production, of which 28 households are registered for business, with full food safety and hygiene certificates.

Mr. Tuan said that My Thuy fish sauce village is developing well, creating stable jobs for more than 200 local workers. “In 2024, the output of fish sauce sold on the market will reach 999,400 liters. The fish sauce consumption market is increasingly expanding, distributed to many provinces and cities across the country, helping many households have a stable economy, some households have high income.

Currently, the locality supports and encourages households to continue improving the quality and promoting My Thuy OCOP 3-star fish sauce and My An OCOP 4-star fish sauce so that the products can reach further and have a firm foothold in the market," said Mr. Tuan.

Born about a century ago, the traditional craft of making wet rice cakes in Phuong Lang, Hai Binh commune, has become the livelihood of many generations of local people and has been maintained until now. According to the elders in Phuong Lang, when wet rice cakes were made by hand using clay ovens and wood stoves, there were about 350 households doing the job. However, following the development process and division of labor in society, machine technology has been applied to wet rice cake production to reduce labor and increase productivity, so now the village only has 6 households making wet rice cakes by machine.

However, households still make wet rice cakes according to the traditional process of the village for hundreds of years. Phuong Lang wet rice cakes have created their own brand and retained customers with their thin, soft, delicious cakes made from Khang Dan rice grains.

Mr. Le Huu Nam, the owner of a fairly large-scale wet rice cake production facility in Phuong Lang village, said that before making the cake, the rice is washed, cleaned and soaked in clean water for about 5 hours, then ground into flour to coat in the boiler system. According to Mr. Nam, to maintain the traditional Phuong Lang wet rice cake brand, households have strictly followed the village's conventions in ensuring food hygiene and safety, and are not allowed to use chemicals in production.

“My mother’s generation used to make rice cakes completely by hand: grinding flour with a stone mortar, spreading the rice cakes with a clay oven heated by charcoal, which was very hard work and low productivity. By the time my generation took over, there were modern machines that replaced human labor from grinding flour to spreading the rice cakes, all automatically. It was very productive and convenient, and the quality of the cakes was guaranteed to be consistent and even improved compared to before,” said Mr. Nam.

Since opening his wet rice cake production facility in 2009, Mr. Nam has been supported with a biogas system to both treat waste and create fuel for his family. From 2019 to present, his facility has continued to receive support from the district and commune for vacuum machines, packaging, labels, and product origin extraction with a value of tens of millions of VND.

From the initial difficulties, up to now, Mr. Nam's facility has been in stable production with a production line operating 10 hours/day, producing 3-4 quintals of cakes/day, selling wholesale to customers and indirectly creating stable jobs for more than 20 women who take cakes to retail in markets and residential areas. "Thanks to support in packaging, labels and vacuum machines, wet rice cakes are more widely known, preserved longer and reach further markets.

Currently, in addition to providing stable supply to wholesalers in and outside the district, my facility's rice cakes are also exported to Ho Chi Minh City, consuming about 300 kg/week. I am very happy because the facility has not only helped my family improve their economic life, but also created jobs and stable income for many local people," Mr. Nam happily said.

It is known that Phuong Lang rice paper has packaging, labels, and products that have been registered and protected as collective trademarks at the Intellectual Property Office. It is estimated that Phuong Lang rice paper establishments annually export nearly 1,000 tons of rice paper to the market, bringing in a total revenue of about 6 - 7 billion VND. The rice paper making profession has created jobs for hundreds of direct and indirect workers with an average income of about 5 - 6 million VND/person/month.

Chairman of Hai Binh Commune People's Committee Hoang Tan Thong said that Phuong Lang traditional rice cake craft village is currently maintaining good production activities and the products are relatively large in the market, creating stable income for the people. To promote the development of the craft village in the coming time, the locality is planning an organic rice production area to provide raw materials for the craft village.

German Vietnamese

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/giu-lua-lang-nghe-truyen-thong-o-hai-lang-192419.htm