New generation salt farmers
The early autumn sun is still scorching the salt fields, the salty vapor from the salt fields is so hot that it burns the skin. In the blazing sun, the salt workers still persevere in the fields, their calloused hands scooping water for irrigation, stirring the sand, and maintaining the traditional profession of drying salt. Now, with the desire for innovation, they put white salt grains into clay pots, going through a sophisticated stewing process, turning the "white gold" of their homeland into a unique stewed salt product,...
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Thanh Phuc /Technique:Hong Toai• September 14, 2025
Early in the morning, when the sun had just risen above the horizon, on the salt fields: Con Cuong, Dong Moi, Dong Hoi Be, Dong Vinh Yen, Dong Hoi Sanh in Quynh Phu commune, there was already a bustling rustling sound, footsteps on the white sand and the strong smell of the sea. On each plot, the calloused hands of the salt workers diligently stirred the water, dug the sand, meticulously taking care of each grain of salt. Despite being exhausted under the harsh sun and the salty smell of the sea, they still persistently held the bucket, stirring each grain of salt as if to preserve their livelihood, to preserve the traditional profession of their ancestors.
Mr. Bui Xuan Dien - Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thang Loi Salt Production and Service Cooperative, worried: "The sand-drying salt profession here has existed for more than 400 years, but is increasingly facing competitive pressure from industrial salt, from water-drying salt imported from the South, and imported refined salt. Salt prices are unstable, in low-cost years people abandon their fields, shelve them, close their warehouses, but once the salt fields are abandoned, they can never be recovered. We want to keep the profession, but we have to increase the value of salt grains, helping salt farmers have less trouble."
From that concern, he and the members of the cooperative made bold decisions, bringing the salt industry into a breakthrough transformation. That is, processing raw salt into salt storage, turning white sand-dried salt grains into unique products, increasing the value: Storage salt, flavored storage salt, shrimp storage salt, sour and spicy salt and stewed royal salt.
We want to preserve the spirit of sand-dried salt and increase the value of salt grains. Based on the ancient formula, we learn from many craft villages, combine modern techniques and the best raw materials, to create products that are clean, nutritious, and meet current needs.
Mr. Bui Xuan Dien - Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thang Loi Salt Production and Service Cooperative
The elaborate process of salt stewing is hard for outsiders to imagine. Sand-dried salt is carefully selected, dried for at least 6 months, placed in Tru Son clay pots and placed on a smoldering longan wood stove. Each stewing session lasts 7-8 hours, stewed twice, simmered once between each session, the salt is taken out and sifted to remove impurities, keeping only the white, fluffy grains. Each clay pot is filled with smoke, the smell of burning wood, the scent of baked clay and dry longan wood rises, the craftsman carefully stirs the sifter, removing lumpy or ash-covered salt grains, leaving only the soft, fluffy white grains that dissolve quickly in water, retaining the natural minerals. When finished, the salt turns the color of snow, the grains are soft, easy to break and dissolve quickly in water, with a mild salty taste and a sweet aftertaste, completely different from regular sand-dried salt. Each step in the salt stewing process requires patience, meticulousness and many years of experience. This is the essence of Nghe An sand-dried salt making, which has been elevated thanks to the intelligence and efforts of the new generation of salt workers. Thang Loi Cooperative's underground salt is highly valued for its nutritional value and medicinal properties.
According to Mr. Dien, stewed salt is not only used for seasoning, but also helps to clear the mind, detoxify, and at the same time lead medicines into the meridians, combined with spices such as mugwort, ginger, lemongrass, and perilla to create valuable nutritious and health-preserving dishes. When tasted, the salt has a mild salty taste, sweet aftertaste, not as harsh as regular salt, and dissolves immediately in water, creating a unique and unforgettable flavor.
Thang Loi Salt Production and Service Cooperative was re-established in 2012 and merged and restructured in 2023. The Cooperative currently owns a production area of 113 hectares, with five production teams spread across the fields, and 830 members, with an annual salt output of about 11,000 - 13,000 tons.
Not only stopping at preserving the profession, Thang Loi Cooperative also aims to create economic value and export prospects. Steep salt is currently sold at over 36,000 VND/kg, 15-20 times higher than the original raw salt. The high value is not only due to the effort and meticulousness but also due to the quality, nutritional value, and ability to replace precious salts such as Himalayan salt or Korean bamboo charcoal salt. On average, each month, the Cooperative supplies about 20 tons of stewed salt to clean food stores, health spas, and food processing units.
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Looking at the steaming pots of salt, one can easily imagine the image of a traditional profession being elevated. Each grain of white salt, each wisp of smoke rising, each hand diligently stirring the sieve all contain the salt workers’ passion. Salt products are not only a spice, but also a symbol of the combination of tradition and innovation, technology and culture, health and economy.
“Currently, the Cooperative is also researching and expanding its product lines from underground salt to bring it closer to people's daily lives: peanut salt, sesame salt, dried salt from jujube, salt for dipping different types of food, to diversify products, increase consumption, and at the same time help Nghe An sand-dried salt not only be a valuable product, but also become an essential ingredient in daily meals,” said Mr. Dien.
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Export prospects are also being considered. With its pure quality and health benefits, the salt can compete in the international market, especially in countries interested in healthy and clean foods. The cooperative's salt products were introduced at domestic salt festivals, such as the Bac Lieu Salt Festival held in March 2025, and received high praise for their quality and unique flavor.
In the international market, names like Himalayan pink salt, Korean bamboo charcoal salt or Celtic sea salt have become global brands, sold in high-end supermarkets at prices dozens of times higher than regular table salt. However, when placed next to Quynh Luu salt, people realize that the traditional product of Quynh Phu salt farmers also has its own advantages.
Himalayan salt is famous for its natural pink color and rich minerals, bamboo charcoal salt impresses with the process of burning in bamboo for many hours, but Nghe An stewed salt carries the value of a profession that has existed for more than four centuries, natural sand-dried salt with a meticulous three-step stewing process, using Tru Son clay pots, a material that retains heat, retains flavor and removes impurities almost perfectly. The salt grains after stewing are as white as snowflakes, soft, melt quickly, sweet aftertaste, rich in minerals, and suitable for the trend of macrobiotics and clean cuisine that is spreading in the world.
This is the advantage for Nghe An stewed salt to compete in the high-end food segment, where consumers are not only looking for a spice, but also a cultural story, a health philosophy and a difference.
Himalayan salt is famous for its natural pink color and rich minerals, bamboo charcoal salt impresses with its process of being baked in bamboo for many hours, but Nghe An stewed salt carries the value of a profession that has existed for more than 4 centuries, natural sand-dried salt with a 3-step elaborate stewing process, using Tru Son clay pots, a material that retains heat, retains flavor and removes impurities almost perfectly.
Mr. Bui Xuan Dien shared that the cooperative is gradually building a standard profile from clean production processes, packaging and labels, to food hygiene and safety certification, to pave the way for salt to enter foreign markets. People who are passionate about their hometown salt like Mr. Dien and the salt farmers still dream that one day, the cooperative's salt can stand next to jars of pink Himalayan salt in supermarkets in Paris, Tokyo or New York. That will not only be a source of pride for Thang Loi Cooperative, but also a proof that Nghe An's sand-dried salt profession has found a new path. At that time, salt will no longer be considered a cheap product, unstable according to the weather, but will become a "quintessential specialty" with cultural and economic value, helping salt farmers change their lives... We hope that these products will become the pride of our homeland, bringing the flavor of Nghe An everywhere, preserving the profession of our ancestors from fading away," he expressed.
That belief is not only fueled by the projects and plans of the cooperative, but also exists in the people who have stuck with the salt fields for generations. Mr. Mai Van Thang, a salt farmer in Quynh Phu commune, shared that since the cooperative started processing underground salt and purchasing salt from people at a higher price than the market price, the life of his family and many other households has become more stable. “Previously, the price of salt produced was often forced down by traders, sometimes falling to a level that was not worth the effort, and people were discouraged. Now that we have a stable output, the salt is processed into high-value products, we are confident in sticking with the profession, no longer worrying about the salt losing value and piling up in the fields like before,” Mr. Thang said.
From that story, we can see that salt is no longer just a product of hard work, exposed to the sun and dew, but has gradually taken on the form of a real "white gold", a special resource of the ocean, which, if exploited and processed, will open up opportunities to change the lives of salt workers. In the eyes of today's salt workers, there is not only the harsh sun and wind ahead, but also the prospect of Nghe An salt grains reaching out to the ocean, contributing to improving income, raising living standards and preserving a precious traditional profession of the homeland.
In the eyes of salt farmers today, there is not only the harsh sun and wind ahead, but also the prospect of Nghe An salt grains reaching out to the ocean, contributing to improving income, raising living standards and preserving a valuable traditional profession of the homeland.