At a meeting on promoting traditional craft village products at the end of 2024, the information that Nam O fish sauce village in Da Nang has not yet been recognized as a traditional craft village caused surprise.
Although very famous, Nam O fish sauce has not been recognized as a traditional craft village - Photo: BD
Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Tran Ngoc Vinh, chairman of the Nam O Traditional Fish Sauce Village Association (Lien Chieu, Da Nang), said he is completing procedures and compiling a list of people participating in the fish sauce production chain in Nam O, to submit to the authorities as a basis for recognition of the traditional craft village.
Seeing Nam O fish sauce means seeing Tet.
In the last days of the year, going to the traditional fish sauce production village in Nam O, Da Nang, everywhere you can see people bustling to prepare for Tet. In the yard, in front of the entrance… are empty spaces cleared to place earthenware jars for fermenting fish sauce.
The family of the chairman of the Nam O Traditional Fish Sauce Village Association, Tran Ngoc Vinh, also prepared a large amount of fish sauce to sell during Tet.
"All year long, I've been waiting for these occasions. Now everything is ready, just waiting for customers to call to confirm orders. This year seems to be less crowded than last year. I don't know if it's because of the difficult economic situation or some other reason, but orders are much less crowded" - Mr. Vinh said.
Traditional fish sauce in Nam O is brewed in earthenware jars - Photo: BD
Mr. Bui Thanh Phu, owner of the Nam O Huong Lang Co fish sauce brand, said that many people in his family maintain the profession of making fish sauce. Near Tet is the main selling season, bringing to the market an average of 8,000 - 10,000 liters of fish sauce each year.
"In the past, fish sauce was just a poor product. Now, on the contrary, bottles of pure fish sauce named Nam O have become luxurious Tet gifts. Fish sauce is also carefully packaged and designed, in line with the current trend of "clean eating" - Mr. Phu said.
Nam O fish sauce village is not yet a craft village because… the list is not complete?
Nam O fish sauce is one of the most famous specialties in the Central region. The coastal community located at the foot of Hai Van Pass in the direction of Da Nang has maintained the fish sauce making profession for hundreds of years.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Vinh said that the traditional craft of Nam O fish sauce has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage and is one of three geographical indications for fish sauce in Vietnam. However, the title of traditional craft village is still "lacking".
The reason, according to Mr. Vinh, is that the list shown on the village profile does not have enough people participating in the chain. The village currently does not have land for concentrated production, does not have its own area to demonstrate the quintessence of the craft, and most of the people work right in the narrow space of their own family...
Nam O fish sauce is being invested in eye-catching designs to launch on the Tet market - Photo: BD
Decree 52/2018/ND-CP of the Government sets out 3 criteria that must be met to be recognized as a craft village. Specifically, at least 20% of the total number of households in the area must participate in one of the activities or rural industry activities; have stable production and business activities for at least 2 consecutive years up to the time of requesting recognition; and meet the conditions for environmental protection of craft villages as prescribed.
According to Mr. Bui Thanh Phu, director of Hong Huong Fish Sauce Company Limited (Huong Lang Co), the actual number of people involved in the production and distribution process of fish sauce in Nam O is up to hundreds of people.
However, when submitting documents to the authorities, the Fish Sauce Village Association only listed families that are members of the association; it did not include people involved in other stages such as sales, raw material supply, fishermen, workers at facilities, etc.
"Not being recognized as a traditional craft village is a big disadvantage. We have discussed and made recommendations.
The leaders of Lien Chieu District People's Committee announced that they are reviewing and proposing to recognize Nam O as a traditional craft village by mid-2025. At that time, the craft village will have more opportunities and more tourists will come," said Mr. Phu.
Traditional fish sauce village in Da Nang becomes tourist village
According to statistics from the People's Committee of Lien Chieu District, up to now, there are 260 households with 315 people in Nam O participating in the stages of making fish sauce in Nam O. Each year, this craft village supplies about 300,000 liters (1 liter sells for 80,000-150,000 VND).
Chairman of the Nam O Traditional Fish Sauce Village Association, Tran Ngoc Vinh, said the number of households reviving the fish sauce making profession in Nam O has increased rapidly. In 2005, there were only about 20 households, but now the number of families resuming the profession has reached hundreds.
Not only production, Nam O has recently welcomed many tourist groups to visit and experience the fish sauce making process with the locals, helping many families earn more income.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lang-nghe-nuoc-mam-nam-o-noi-tieng-chua-phai-la-lang-nghe-20250103080415011.htm
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