Hundred-year-old 'fragrant' village in Ho Chi Minh City is bustling during Tet

(Dan Tri) - At the end of the year, the incense village in Le Minh Xuan commune (Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City) is busy preparing for Tet orders. Production is not as vibrant as before, but people here still stick with the profession.

Le Minh Xuan incense village (Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City) is one of the oldest incense-making villages in the Southern region with a history of nearly 100 years. People here produce all year round, focusing on major holidays such as Lunar New Year, January 15th, July 15th... Le Minh Xuan incense village was recognized as a traditional craft village in 2012.

After many ups and downs, the number of incense-making households in Le Minh Xuan commune has gradually decreased. However, along Mai Ba Huong street (Binh Chanh district), there are still many households that stick to the profession, preserving the family tradition of making incense.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy (52 years old) has been making incense for hire for more than ten years. She said that the raw materials are delivered to her house every week, she makes the finished product and then delivers it to the owner. She is paid 4,500 VND for each incense stick (1,000 incense sticks), Ms. Thuy makes about 100 sticks a day. "This job is unstable, but now I'm old, if I don't make incense, what else can I do to earn money?" Ms. Thuy (52 years old) said.

To make a quality incense stick, the craftsman uses powder made from sawdust of the trunk of the Aquilaria tree, bamboo shoots or wood sawdust mixed with glue for adhesion. Depending on the customer's needs, they can add more incense, cinnamon... the price of each incense stick ranges from 27,000 - 47,000 VND/stick.

Currently, most incense makers here use machines in production to increase productivity. Incense sticks made by machines will be uniform, beautiful and of high quality.

Besides large-scale businesses, many small businesses still take advantage of natural sunlight to dry incense without using dryers. "Drying incense takes more time and effort than drying incense with a dryer. When drying incense, you also have to monitor it carefully so that the incense does not burn when exposed to the sun for too long," said Ms. Nguyen Thi My Le (55 years old).

To make an incense stick, the base of the incense must first be dyed red, then dried in the sun, followed by grinding the powder, mixing the powder, rolling the incense, drying it, and packaging it. During the months leading up to Tet, the workers’ work usually starts from 3am until late at night. The pay for each working day is usually around 300,000 VND.

Similarly, at the production facility of Mr. Hoang Van Long (53 years old), there are also nearly ten workers busy working. Mr. Long said that at the end of the year, there are many orders to the provinces, so his family has to hire more workers to ensure quantity.

Ms. Do Thi Thanh Nga (65 years old), who works for Mr. Long's facility, said that in recent years, the number of households making incense in this commune has decreased significantly, and most of those who still work in the profession are past working age. "This year, I am over 60 years old, and my health is not good enough to work from morning to night. I wake up early and work until 9 or 10 o'clock, then take a break to earn a little money to make ends meet," Ms. Nga said.

"I used to work as a garment worker, but after the pandemic, the company cut staff, so I had to go home and learn how to make incense. Although the income is not high, at this time having a job to earn money and being able to take care of a small child is great," said Ms. Minh (40 years old).

This year, incense makers are facing difficulties due to fewer orders and higher raw material prices. However, households in the craft village are still trying to maintain a stable production volume to supply the market and ensure income for workers.

After drying, the incense sticks will be bundled into bundles, each bundle consists of 1,000 incense sticks, weighing about 1.5kg.

Mr. Long is loading packages to take to the bus station to send to traders in the Western provinces.

In addition to supplying the Ho Chi Minh City market, finished incense bundles also "spread fragrance" throughout the Western provinces and the Northern market.

Dantri.com.vn