Sa Huynh salt village and the direction of community tourism development

Long-standing craft village

Sa Huynh (Duc Pho town, Quang Ngai) is not only known for its important archaeological sites or its golden sand beaches with murmuring waves all year round, but is also famous for its vast salt fields located along National Highway 1A (in Pho Thanh ward), about 60km south of Quang Ngai city center.

Sa Huynh salt field is considered the largest salt field in the Central region with an area of ​​about 105 hectares. The salt making profession was formed in the 19th century and has been passed down through generations, preserved to this day, becoming a typical traditional profession of Sa Huynh residents.

Currently, the salt industry provides a livelihood for 500 local salt farmers. Every year, Sa Huynh supplies the market with 6,000 - 6,500 tons of salt. However, like many other localities, the current salt industry is not economically efficient as prices are always unstable.

Sa Huynh salt fields seen from above are as beautiful as a painting.

Salt farmer Tran Cu (residing in Pho Thanh ward) said that his family has been in the salt business for a long time. In recent years, the price of salt purchased by traders has fluctuated erratically. “The salt business is very erratic, some years the price goes up to 4,000 - 5,000 VND/kg, other years it drops to a few hundred VND/kg. Generally, when the salt harvest is good, the price drops, but when the harvest is bad, the price increases,” said Mr. Cu.

According to the Farmers' Association of Pho Thanh Ward, the reason for the unstable salt price is that up to now, there are not many businesses purchasing large quantities of salt products in Sa Huynh for processing. In the area, there is only one company that cooperates with salt makers in production, but the annual consumption is only about 200 tons. Meanwhile, the annual salt output in Sa Huynh is about 6,000 - 6,500 tons. The remaining large amount of products are purchased through traders for street sale.

Sa Huynh salt village was formed more than 100 years ago.

Faced with this situation, the Quang Ngai provincial government is anxious to find a new direction to support the people. And combining salt production with community tourism is a new, positive and promising direction.

This is because this direction is suitable for the tourism development of Duc Pho town, the southern gateway of the province, in addition to Sa Huynh Culture becoming a special national relic. In addition to resort tourism, tourists are also very interested in experiencing Sa Huynh salt production village, opening up great opportunities to develop community tourism, creating more income for salt farmers.

Developing craft villages associated with tourism

In order to realize the above direction and enhance the value of Sa Huynh salt making, in early June 2024, the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province approved the project document on technical support for preserving traditional salt fields associated with developing community tourism in Pho Thanh ward.

The project is funded by the United Nations Development Program, the Global Environment Facility-Small Project Grant Program (UNDP/GEF-SGP) with a total capital of nearly 2 billion VND. The Farmers' Association of Pho Thanh Ward is assigned to be the project owner, with the implementation period from May 2024 to October 2025.

In recent years, salt farmers have always faced a situation of good harvest, low prices, and unstable income.

The project aims to preserve traditional salt fields, promote Sa Huynh cultural values ​​and develop community tourism. Develop Sa Huynh traditional salt based on promoting traditional cultural values ​​associated with environmental protection and mangrove ecosystems. At the same time, turn Sa Huynh into a destination for experiencing the salt industry, a community learning tourism destination connecting Sa Huynh culture and ecosystems.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Van (residing in Long Thanh 1 village, Pho Thanh ward) said that the locals would be very happy if the salt village became known to many people through tourism products. “Occasionally, a few foreign tourist groups stop to visit the salt fields, and the locals here are very happy. I heard from tourists that France also has traditional salt fields like Sa Huynh and it is a famous tourist destination in Europe,” Ms. Van shared.

Developing the salt industry associated with community tourism is the desire of Sa Huynh salt farmers.

Passionate about Sa Huynh salt, Ms. Pham Thi Hong Tham - Sahu Salt Company Limited believes that in Sa Huynh salt fields, there should be tours to learn about the traditional model of drying salt fields.

Coming to Sa Huynh salt field, in addition to admiring the picturesque white salt fields, visitors can also learn and research about the ecosystem on the salt fields and their impact on the environment, and the livelihoods of local people. Visitors can also experience making salt grains, salt flowers, and watch the sunrise and sunset on the salt fields.

Combining salt field tourism with some famous tourist destinations around such as: Sa Huynh beach, Sa Huynh cultural exhibition house or traditional pottery village, Go Co community tourism village..., creates wonderful experiences for visitors.

However, the preservation of the traditional Sa Huynh salt fields associated with the development of community tourism in Pho Thanh ward is currently only in the first stage, there is still a lot to do. In particular, it is necessary to invest in and renovate the infrastructure in the salt fields.

Over many generations, up to now, the sea dyke and dam, irrigation system have been degraded, the internal roads have been eroded, locally concave and convex, mechanical transportation is difficult, not ensuring the transportation of materials and products from the salt fields to the main road.

Developing community tourism helps salt farmers in Sa Huynh salt village improve their income, contributing to solving the problem of 'good harvest, low price' that has persisted for many years.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Sang - Vice Chairman of Duc Pho Town People's Committee said that, in the face of the current situation of the degraded infrastructure of Sa Huynh salt fields, the town has proposed to the Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee to prioritize the allocation of medium-term capital for investment and upgrading to create favorable conditions for people to produce. At the same time, this is also the basis for gradually developing community tourism in this long-standing salt village.

“However, for the development of community tourism in the area, currently only a few units have approached but the investment resources and direction of operation are not clear. Therefore, the solution that the town has proposed is to call on large enterprises to invest in developing the cultural space and Sa Huynh relics. At that time, Sa Huynh salt fields will be the surrounding “satellites” to diversify the tourist attractions to attract tourists. Only then can community tourism be developed sustainably, helping salt farmers improve their income,” said Mr. Sang.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/lang-muoi-sa-huynh-va-huong-di-phat-trien-du-lich-cong-dong-post533831.html