Nghe An 'salt barn' struggles to find ways to preserve traditional profession
(Baonghean.vn)- Quynh Luu is considered the “salt granary” of Nghe An. In recent years, due to unstable salt prices and low income for salt workers, most salt workers have switched to other jobs. To preserve the traditional profession, craft village cooperatives are struggling in all sorts of ways…
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The early season sun is nearly 40 degrees Celsius, harsh and burning, but salt workers in Tan Thang salt village (An Hoa commune, Quynh Luu) still stick to the sun to produce salt. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| The process of making salt grains is extremely hard, going through many stages: tilling the soil, drying the soil, putting the soil in a pan, filtering the water, drying the water, collecting the salt... all done by hand. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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The hotter the sun, the more active the salt farmers have to be in the fields, because the hotter the sun, the more salt they can make, the whiter the salt grains, the better the salt quality, and the higher the price. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| The salt industry is hard, the price of salt is unstable, and the income of salt workers is low, so now, most of the workers in Tan Thang salt village are elderly. Most of the workers in their age group have changed jobs, working as factory workers or construction workers. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| “The family has four children, none of them are following in their father’s footsteps anymore. It’s a blessing that they have escaped the salt fields. I’m old and don’t know how to do anything else, so I still have to stick with it, working in the sun to make salt to make a living,” said Ho Thi Vinh. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| Working hard and hard under the hot sun, the highest income for a salt worker is only 200,000 VND/day. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| Mr. Bui Xuan Dien, representative of Thang Loi Salt Cooperative, An Hoa Commune (Quynh Luu) said: "The cooperative has 818 members, each year producing 12,000 tons of salt to supply the market. This year, the price of salt at the beginning of the season was high, but now the price of salt has dropped sharply. Therefore, the most worrying thing is that people are bored with the job, quit the job, and the salt fields are left abandoned." Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| In order to increase the value of salt, create sustainable livelihoods for people, and promote traditional craft villages, the cooperative and local authorities have made efforts to connect with processing enterprises to purchase salt grains and salt by-products for people. In the photo: A local company purchases "salt molasses" (salt water, salt water) for people, increasing the income of salt farmers by 50%. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
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| Currently, the cooperative is developing a project for An Hoa salt village tourism experience with the following activities: Visiting the salt village; experiencing salt making with salt farmers; visiting mangrove forests, cruising along the Mai Giang River, enjoying local specialties... Hopefully, the project will be implemented soon, aiming to increase income, create sustainable livelihoods for local people. At the same time, retain workers, promote traditional occupations in localities. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Clip: Thanh Phuc |
