(Baonghean.vn)- From the 10th lunar month, people in the traditional incense-making village of Quy Chau are busy entering the incense production season to serve the Lunar New Year and other festivals at the beginning of the year.
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| The incense making profession in Quy Chau has existed for decades. Currently, the whole district has 1 cooperative and 6 incense villages in 5 communes and towns, of which Tan Lac town alone has 1 cooperative and 1 incense village with nearly 100 households. On average, each household produces hundreds of thousands of incense trees each year, and after deducting expenses, each year they earn a profit of 60-70 million VND. |
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| According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh, one of the incense makers in Block 3 of Tan Lac town, the main ingredient for making incense is vetiver root, which has a mild fragrance and is a type of herb found in abundance in the mountainous regions of Nghe An. In addition, there are also star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, agarwood, bagasse and a few special herbs that are kept secret by the craft village. (In the photo: Powder for making incense after being mixed) |
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| Villagers have put into use many types of specialized incense making machines to increase the quantity and quality of incense such as paper cutters, raw material mixers, incense making machines... |
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| In the past, making incense was considered a side job, but now for most families it is the main job, passed down from generation to generation. |
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| The incense making profession needs sunny days. Therefore, the 10th lunar month every year is not only the time to make incense for Tet but also the time for people to make incense in reserve for the rainy January days when production is not possible. Ms. Tran Thi Loan, Head of the Quy Chau Incense Cooperative, said that this is the urgent time for the biggest incense crop of the year, so all incense production facilities in the area are working at full capacity to meet orders nationwide. |
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| Accordingly, the profession of making incense requires perseverance, meticulousness, especially mastering and doing the right technique. The time to prepare raw materials also requires a long time, up to a whole year. In particular, it must be done in order, step by step, without skipping any step, because then the product will not be beautiful, not fragrant and not up to standard. |
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| Not only making incense, people in Quy Chau incense village now also make many types such as: incense sticks, incense coils, incense candles, incense buds... In the photo are finished incense candles. |
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| After being "exposed to enough sunlight", the incense is packaged for export to the market. In the photo: Incense coils, a new product of the villagers. |
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| Through many ups and downs, Quy Chau incense, especially agarwood incense, still retains its inherent characteristics, which are deep burning, thin smoke, sweet aroma, and beautifully curved incense ash. Therefore, Quy Chau incense brand not only serves the province, but has also reached all over the country, serving the growing needs of the people. |
Quang An
