Nghe An molasses village bustles during Tet

This year, due to the impact of the epidemicCovid-19But in Gang village, Nghia Hung commune (Nghia Dan), the molasses cooking profession is still maintained as in previous years. At this time, the production season has been nearly a month, the villagers are very excited, because this year the price of molasses has increased from 3 million VND to 3.8 million VND/barrel. This is also the time when the demandmolassesDue to the high demand for market services, many households have had to hire more workers, working continuously during the week.

Instead of using buffaloes and cows to press sugarcane like in the past, people now use machines to press sugarcane. Photo: Minh Thai

Mr. Tran Van Hung's family is the largest producer of molasses in Gang village. On average, the family presses 8 tons of sugarcane per day and cooks 4 barrels of molasses. After deducting expenses, the family earns 1 million VND per barrel.

Mr. Hung said that to make delicious honey, one must stand and watch the pan for many hours, stirring continuously and evenly. When the honey boils, skim off the honey scum. If not careful, the honey will burn and turn black and not be delicious. When the sugarcane juice begins to thicken and turn golden brown, the cooking of the honey is complete. After cooking, people continue to filter the honey through a layer of gauze to remove the residue. When the honey cools, a layer of sugar foam will appear, then it is complete.

Mr. Hung said that to make good honey, he has to stand guard over large pans of honey for many hours and stir constantly. Photo: Minh Thai

Currently, the whole Gang village has about 200 households working in the molasses cooking business, each family has an average of 15 - 20 barrels of molasses, earning an average of 100 - 120 million VND per year. In particular, the time for cooking and selling molasses lasts from November to January, and families who buy sugarcane late can produce until February or March. Compared to other crops, the economic value of cooking molasses is much higher.

After cooking, people will filter the honey through a layer of gauze to remove any residue. Photo: Minh Thai

Not only in Gang village, but also in many other hamlets, the molasses cooking profession has also begun to develop very strongly. Not far from Gang village, Nghia Nhan is also a hamlet that develops the molasses cooking profession quite quickly.

Ms. Le Thi Hang, Nghia Nhan hamlet, Nghia Hung commune shared: “My family has been making honey for nearly 15 years. In fact, making honey is not as hard as before, but the income is much higher than other jobs. On average, my family makes 7 tons of sugarcane per day, and during Tet, it increases to 8-9 tons to serve people for Tet. This year, the weather is favorable, and the local authorities are interested in granting certificates and craft village stamps, so the craft village's molasses products are shipped all over the country.”

Pouring honey into plastic cans to deliver to customers. Photo: Minh Thai

In Nghia Hung, there are currently about 500 households making molasses. In addition to providing a stable income for their families, each household also creates jobs for 5-7 surplus workers, contributing significantly to the development of the local economy. To adapt to the epidemic, in addition to existing sources of goods, villagers also sell goods through social networks such as Facebook and Zalo, and goods are delivered through freight services.

Not only promoting production, recently, local authorities and craft village cooperatives have promoted brand promotion as well as found stable outlets for products, helping craft village residents increase their income.

After being pressed to extract molasses, people also dry the bagasse to use as firewood to cook molasses. Photo: Minh Thai

Mr. Tran Van Dong - Vice Chairman of Nghia Hung Commune People's Committee said: "In addition to the epidemic prevention work, at this time we focus on directing people to prepare for spring crop production. With the molasses craft village, we focus on directing people to implement the 5K recommendations well. This year, people are excited about the success of sugarcane production and the high price of molasses...".

Although it is still more than a month until Lunar New Year, and due to the impact of the epidemicCovid-19causing market demand to become more sluggish than every year. However, with higher productivity and quality of molasses, people in the molasses village in Nghia Dan hope to have more income to take care of their families for a warm and prosperous Tet./.