(Baonghean.vn) - The cries of "Water spinach!", "Tea!"... have become familiar sounds every morning in Hoa Binh town (Tuong Duong district). The image of women carrying baskets of clean mountain produce to sell to city dwellers has contributed to the simple beauty of the highlands.
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| The early morning in Hoa Binh town is dreamy and peaceful... |
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| But after a short while, the town "wakes up" in its daily activities. Amidst the traffic, the sight of women carrying heavy loads of firewood like this, earning a living, has become a characteristic feature of this highland town. Each load of firewood brings in about 30,000 - 50,000 dong, but often these women have to carry it on their shoulders and walk nearly ten kilometers to reach the town. |
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| 'In the past, villagers used to carry agricultural or forest products they harvested from the forest down to the mountain town to sell in exchange for food. They would go from house to house offering their goods. Now...In more modern times, many local women use bicycles to sell their goods. The calls of "Vegetables for sale!", "Tea for sale!" echo and stretch along the streets... |
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| Even though there's a market in the town, these baskets of goods and carts of vegetables are still preferred by many townspeople because of their preference for clean agricultural products from the mountains and forests. |
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| A vegetable vendor's stall doesn't just sell vegetables; sometimes it includes unexpected specialties, like this string of dried frogs, a delicacy of the ethnic minority communities. |
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| Women are competing to buy galangal. The native galangal variety is much more fragrant and aromatic than galangal grown in other soils. |
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| We came across two elderly women carrying several bottles of wild honey, offering to sell them right at the doorsteps of people in the town. |
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| After carrying their goods around the town, they sold out by midday. The women then walked back to their villages to tend to their crops, raise livestock, leisurely catch stream fish, and gather wild vegetables... preparing for tomorrow's market. |
Thanh Cuong
