Children working early in salt making

(Baonghean.vn) –The prolonged heat wave with high temperatures spreading across the central region is a favorable condition for salt farmers to produce salt. Therefore, despite the scorching heat, tens of thousands of salt farmers in the salt fields of Quynh Luu still "roast" themselves in the sun above 40 degrees Celsius every day to produce.

From around 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. - the hottest time of the day, in the white salt fields in An Hoa, Quynh Thuan, Quynh Tho communes... (Quynh Luu, Nghe An), salt workers have begun their main work. Among the tens of thousands of salt workers working hard in production, it is not difficult to find "little salt workers" who are also working hard to help their families.

Although she is only in 6th grade, Lan has mastered all the jobs. Every day, she goes to school in the morning and helps her mother in the field in the afternoon.



Despite the temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius, the young salt workers still work hard.

Despite their young age, most of the children are as proficient at their work as adults. Nguyen Thi Lan in Hamlet 8, Quynh Thuan Commune, shared while working with a smile: “This year I am in 6th grade, in the morning I go to school and in the afternoon I go to the field to make salt with my mother. I start working from 1pm and finish around 7pm. It is very hot but I am used to it...”

Not only Lan, but also many other children are working hard in the salt fields here. Here, depending on each person's ability, there are suitable jobs in each stage of production. Children do lighter work such as drawing water, raking salt... Adults do dirt, raking soil...

This boy helps his mother bail water.



Salt workers roast themselves in the scorching sun.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Hoa (72 years old) - a veteran salt worker with nearly 60 years of experience in salt making in hamlet 6, Quynh Thuan (Quynh Luu, Nghe An) happily shared: “Children here are like that, at the age of 6 - 7 they follow their parents to the salt fields. At first, they do light work, then gradually get used to it and do more difficult work. Every house is like that. The sun at home is hot, but the salt fields are many times hotter because there is not even a shade tree here so it is very hot.”

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa (72 years old) is a veteran salt worker who has lived in the salt industry for nearly 60 years.

Production is hard but the price of salt is always unstable, too low to meet the needs of life, so many salt farmers are no longer interested in white salt. Most of the healthy young people go to work far away in the salt fields, leaving only the elderly, women and children to work.

Anh Duy - Nguyen Tinh