Drinks brewed with yeast from 36 types of forest leaves are in high demand during Tet

Even before the Tet Ong Cong, Ong Tao festival this year, the Tet atmosphere has come to the craft villages.yeastand traditional wine distillation in Don Phuc and Mau Duc communes, districtCon CuongPeople are much more excited than Tet 2022 when the number of products made in the whole year of 2022 is almost sold out.

Cham Muong villagers are happy because their products are sold out before Tet. Photo: HT

In Cham Muong village, Mau Duc commune, where Cham Muong Can wine village was recognized by the Provincial People's Committee in November 2021, villagers have started preparing for new batches of products because the quantity produced this year has been sold and deposited.

Ms. Ngan Thi Hanh, one of the households participating in the production groupswinein Cham Muong, who has just introduced a new batch of pickling, said: “The family only has more than 50 jars left to celebrate the Year of the Cat. We mainly "save" some for relatives, relatives and close friends, and do not sell them anymore. In the village, the households participating in the production have all sold or have customers placing orders. This year, Cham Muong is "out of stock", so we women take advantage of the opportunity to go into the forest to find leaves to prepare for new batches of products."

The remaining quantity of rice wine of Mr. Quang Van Thu's family. Photo: HT

Not far from Ms. Hanh's house is the spacious stilt house of Mr. Quang Van Thu. In a corner of Mr. Thu's yard, more than 30 bottles of the "popular drink" are neatly arranged, each bottle holding 10 - 15 liters. Mr. Thu's son said that the family kept these bottles for Tet and for some acquaintances who had told him in advance but had not come to collect them.

Traditional wine yeast of the Thai ethnic group is made from more than 30 herbs, mainly taken from the forest. Photo: HT

“This year, Cham Muong’s traditional products were sold out early. Customers from the South to the North also placed orders; consumers in the district and the province also bought more than in previous years, so people are very excited,” said Mr. Vo Dinh Thanh, Chairman of Mau Duc Commune People’s Committee.

Sharing the joy of traditional yeast and wine producers in Mau Duc, production groups in Xieng Village's yeast wine craft village, Don Phuc commune, also said that although it is more than ten days before the Lunar New Year, their products have all been sold out.

Production teams in Xieng village operate continuously day and night. Photo: HT

Ms. Vi Thi Hoang - the Xieng village yeast production team said that currently, Xieng village craft village has 56 participating households, divided into 2 production teams. The households take turns performing the stages according to the unified assignment of the whole team.

Xieng village, Don Phuc commune, produces yeast from 36 types of forest leaves. Photo: HT

“Because the process of making yeast from forest leaves and the wine fermentation time required takes months, we have to rotate the “pillow season” to have enough regular supply for customers. Ban Xieng has only been recognized by the province as a craft village for about a year now, however, people have not anticipated the level of product consumption when the craft village is recognized and promoted by the industry, so this year it sold out early,” said Ms. Vi Thi Hoang.

The leader of the People's Committee of Don Phuc commune said that the commune has 188 households with 844 people, of which more than 70% of the households are proficient in the process of producing yeast from forest leaves and participating in making yeast wine. Of which, about 21% of the households produce and trade this traditional drink.

Leaders of Don Phuc Commune People's Committee inspect groups producing yeast wine. Photo: HT

Currently, Ban Xieng yeast wine village has 2 production teams, each team can distill about 100 - 150 liters per day with 4 - 6 manual cooking pots, bringing an average income of about 18 million VND/year for each worker. At the same time, it creates jobs for more than 500 workers every year.

After fermentation, yeast made from forest leaves is placed on a rack over a fire to preserve it. Photo: HT

“To help people maintain their traditional occupations and develop the economy, the People's Committee of the commune always guides and directs people to comply with the regulations and rules of production and business activities. In particular, to build and maintain the reputation of the craft village, ensuring quality must always be a top priority. We thoroughly inform people that batches of distilled products must be soaked and aged for a sufficient period of time before being sold, and that they must not chase quantity and affect quality,” affirmed Mr. Lu Ngoc Chi - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Don Phuc commune./.