The passion for the craft remains strong.

(Baonghean) - In mid-December of the lunar calendar, amidst the pleasant chill of the year-end, we visited Hau Hoa craft village (Nghi Hoa, Nghi Loc) and felt the hustle and bustle, the busy preparations of the women making rice crackers and peanut candy... as they worked to prepare goods for the Lunar New Year.

From her youth, Nguyen Thi Chan (from Thach Ha, Ha Tinh province) was familiar with the early mornings in the kitchen behind her house, where the scent of molasses mixed with finely ground fresh ginger permeated the air – that was when her grandmother and mother busied themselves cooking peanut candy to be ready for the early morning market. As she grew up, the clothes and school supplies of her sisters depended on those batches of peanut candy. Even now, Chan still vividly remembers her mother's advice on her wedding day: "No matter how difficult or prosperous your life becomes, don't abandon this craft, because it not only supports the whole family but also preserves the ancestral trade."

The peanut candy production facility of Ms. Nguyen Thi Chan's family in Hau Hoa craft village (Nghi Hoa, Nghi Loc).

She married and moved to Hau Hoa village, Nghi Hoa commune, Nghi Loc district, bringing with her the peanut candy making trade. Her husband, Ngo Van Hau, after being discharged from the army, worked in the fields while also helping her develop the business. She said: "This job is very hard. It's not just about staying up late and waking up early, but also about finding suppliers. In the past, transportation was difficult, so we would get up at 3 or 4 in the morning, pouring candy, packaging products, and cycling hundreds of kilometers to source candy from Do Luong, Thanh Chuong, Dien Chau, Nam Dan... We were sourcing and finding long-term suppliers. Over time, the places we went to became familiar, and now Ms. Chan's peanut candy production facility has expanded, providing a fairly high income. Besides providing jobs for her own family members, Ms. Chan also employs 4-5 regular workers with salaries ranging from 2.5 to 3 million VND per month." To meet market demand, in addition to traditional peanut candy, Ms. Chằn also makes other products such as cu đơ (a type of Vietnamese candy), kẹo dồi (a type of chewy candy), kẹo chéo (a type of sticky candy), kẹo tấm (a type of crushed candy), kẹo dẻo (a type of soft candy)...

Every day, she sells 300 kg of honey and 70 kg of peanuts and sesame seeds. During Tet (Lunar New Year), in addition to supplying the market with her usual products, Ms. Chan also makes a special type of candy priced at 30,000 VND per pack, mainly ordered by regular customers to give as gifts or souvenirs to people in Hanoi, Saigon, and even to South Korea and Malaysia…

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dung (Hamlet 2, Nghi Phuong - Nghi Loc) - one of Ms. Chan's loyal customers, said: he has been involved in the candy selling business for over 20 years, and for all those years he has only bought from Ms. Chan, even though many families follow this profession. This is because the quality of Ms. Chan's family's candy is very good, moderately sweet, with a rich, fragrant flavor, and the price is also very reasonable.

Besides making peanut candy, the women of Hau Hoa also make rice noodles and steamed rice cakes – it is thanks to these side businesses that the lives of Catholic families in Hau Hoa are becoming increasingly prosperous. A prime example is Ms. Dang Thi Lien, the head of the Hau Hoa Women's Association, whose family has become wealthy from making rice noodles and steamed rice cakes. Ms. Lien believes that if she only relied on three acres of rice paddies, she certainly wouldn't have been able to provide for her children's education. From making rice noodles and steamed rice cakes, Ms. Lien expanded into livestock farming, always having 400 chickens and ducks, and over 15 pigs in her barn. Encouragingly, even though her children have grown up, they have all followed in their mother's footsteps in making rice noodles and steamed rice cakes. Her secret to making delicious rice noodles is encapsulated in four words: "white rice, clear water." In the old days, making rice noodles was not only arduous but also very elaborate. Back then, made by hand, the whole family could only mill about 10 kg of rice a day. In the morning, she would carry it around to sell at local markets. Now that they have machinery, they produce several hundred kilograms of rice noodles every day. Even with the same machine and rice, the quality of the noodles varies due to the flour processing stage. First, the rice must be dry and not sticky when cooked. The rice is washed thoroughly, dried, naturally fermented, and then soaked. During the soaking process, the producers can tell by feel and smell whether the fermentation is just right. Currently, the family sells an average of over 200 kilograms of rice noodles and rice vermicelli to the market every day.

Ms. Trinh Minh Nguyet, Chairwoman of the Women's Association of Nghi Hoa commune, said: "The craft of producing rice crackers, vermicelli, and various types of candy has been preserved and developed by the women in the craft village over time. This is also the main source of income for the women, playing a crucial role in improving their lives. With an abundant labor force and favorable conditions, the area has Quan Market, a long-standing traditional market that operates every day of the month. It serves as a place for women in the commune and neighboring communes to buy, sell, and exchange goods and sell various products. This is also a profession that attracts many workers and provides employment for many women, especially during their free time." To continuously develop and expand its sales area, the Women's Association of the commune has actively encouraged and educated its members to diversify their product range, especially focusing on food safety and hygiene in production to protect consumer health, affirm reputation, and build brands for their products. Besides creating jobs and increasing income, this initiative has the crucial role of selling agricultural products for the local people, thereby contributing to improved production efficiency for farmers.

Thanh Thuy