Preserving the traditional profession of the homeland

With the desire to contribute to preserving and promoting the traditional profession of his hometown, after graduating from university, Mr. Mai Tran Dang Vang (born in 1991) returned to the craft village of making fish sauce and dried anchovies in Vinh Truong ward (Nha Trang city), the place closely associated with his childhood, to start a business.

Before 4am, Mr. Vang was already on duty at Vinh Truong fishing port. Today, the night trips will return with holds full of anchovies. “According to previous orders, today 12 tons of anchovies have arrived at the port and will be taken straight to the family’s anchovy processing facility of over ^4,000m2 in Group 5 Truong Son, Vinh Truong Ward” - Mr. Vang began the conversation with us.

Fresh anchovies are put into the steamer to cook.

Each crate of sparkling anchovies is carried onto a three-wheeled vehicle and taken straight to the processing area. Here, more than 30 workers are ready for each step: cleaning the fish, spreading them evenly on each tray and dipping them in a steamer for about 1 minute, then drying them in the sun for about 4 hours. After that, the dried anchovies are brought to the workshop for sorting, cleaning and packaging. “Every 3kg of fresh anchovies will produce 1kg of dried anchovies. Every year, from the 3rd to the 8th lunar month, anchovies swim in white flocks all over Nha Trang Bay. That is also the time when the craft villages making anchovy fish sauce and steamed anchovies start their season,” said Mr. Vang.

Along with steamed anchovies, Mr. Vang’s family also specializes in producing anchovy fish sauce. Each year, his family produces more than 300,000 liters of fish sauce and hundreds of tons of dried anchovies, mainly produced according to orders from domestic and export enterprises, bringing in an income of more than 800 million VND/year.

After steaming, the fish is dried.

Mr. Vang shared that in 2014, after graduating from university with a major in accounting in Ho Chi Minh City, instead of staying in the city, he returned to help his family produce anchovies and anchovy fish sauce. Nha Trang anchovies are famous nationwide for their deliciousness, quality, and nutrition. Although the steps of processing anchovies seem simple, to be able to steam the fish without being raw or overcooked; to dry them properly, without being hard or soft, and to achieve the characteristic sweetness and toughness of the product is a process that requires experience and solid skills of the craftsman. Born and raised in a craft village associated with anchovies, Mr. Vang has known how to combine traditional experience with the agility of a young farmer. The anchovy fish sauce and dried anchovies products under the brand name Hanh Quyen that he and his family have worked hard to build are now 3-star OCOP products.

Anchovies are carefully selected.

What Mr. Vang appreciates most when returning to his hometown, to his traditional profession of making anchovies, is that the workers working for his facility are all neighbors, close relatives, many of whom have carried him since he was a child. Therefore, it is not simply a normal labor relationship, for Mr. Vang, the workers are also his father's generation. "I want the anchovy profession to be preserved and promoted, especially the spirit of solidarity among the workers. My family has the conditions to build a drying yard. Therefore, I am cherishing the idea of ​​turning the anchovy processing profession into an address so that people in other provinces and cities as well as tourists when coming to Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa can witness the typical beauty and learn about the stages of making dried anchovies of the people of the coastal land of Nha Trang" - Mr. Vang shared.

Mr. Mai Tran Dang Vang with fish sauce products under the brand name Hanh Quyen -
Product achieved 3 star OCOP.

Mr. Pham Minh Tuan - Chairman of Vinh Truong Ward Farmers' Association said: Mr. Mai Tran Dang Vang is a good farmer and businessman at the provincial level for many years. His family's economic model creates stable jobs for nearly 40 local workers with an income of 5 to 7 million VND/person/month. Not only typical in production labor, Mr. Vang also actively participates in the farmer movement with specific and practical actions such as: Supporting members and farmers with difficult livelihoods; participating in social charity activities launched by the locality; actively participating in seminars, markets, and fairs to promote and introduce products and the craft village of making fish sauce and anchovies in Nha Trang.

HONG DANG

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/kinh-te/202503/giu-nghe-truyen-thong-cua-que-huong-2cc2cff/