9X guy in Cam Kim starts a business with clean incense

Mr. Thach's clean incense products are popular with many consumers. Photo: NQ

Mr. Pham Cong Thach said that in 2019 he graduated from Ho Chi Minh City Academy of Public Administration and worked at several companies in the city with a salary of about 15 - 20 million VND/month.

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, forcing him to quit his stable job in the city and return to his hometown. After trying a few jobs but finding them unsuitable, he chose his family’s incense making business to start his own business.

Incense is made from natural ingredients, without using chemicals. Photo: NQ

“When I chose to start a business making clean incense, my family did not support me at all because I had to give up a stable job with a good salary, but because I inherited a traditional profession that had been in my family for 4 generations and lived close to home, I had more confidence and determination to start a business,” Mr. Thach shared.

Mr. Thach added that it was really difficult for him to switch from an office worker to making incense. He learned the process of mixing ingredients and the steps of making incense from his uncle.

After nearly 2 years of apprenticeship, Mr. Thach has mastered the skills of making incense. In addition, he also contributed 200 million VND with his uncle to buy raw materials and machinery to increase the productivity of incense production.

Bamboo sticks used for incense are neatly arranged to make the space more lively. Photo: NQ

To make clean batches of incense, Mr. Thach uses 100% natural ingredients such as cinnamon, cypress, agarwood, bamboo, and Litsea. All ingredients are carefully selected by him, without mixing chemicals during the production and preservation process.

The incense was tested by Mr. Thach before being sold on the market. Photo: NQ

“Customers increasingly tend to use clean products for their health, so every time I produce incense, I save samples and send them for quality testing before packaging and supplying them to the market.

Unlike incense on the market, the incense produced by my facility has a light fragrance when burned, leaves little ash, and the scent of this incense can reduce stress and fatigue, so customers love it," said Mr. Thach.

Mr. Thach dries incense in the sun to ensure quality. Photo: N.Q — Mr. Thach dries incense in the sun to ensure quality and beautiful color. Photo: NQ

Currently, Mr. Thach's facility produces about 500kg of incense sticks and round strings each month.

Each incense box is clearly printed with the production date, origin, source and barcode so that customers can trace the origin.

Every day, Mr. Thach consumes about 5-20kg of incense, his income after deducting all expenses is about 5 million/month. Customers are using it more and more popularly, so his expected income will also increase.

His incense customers are from all over the country such as Quang Nam , Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi... and many European and Asian tourists also place orders.

Tourists enjoy experiencing the incense making profession. Photo: NQ

In addition to wholesale and retail clean incense at the facility, Mr. Thach also brings the product to the e-commerce platform. He cherishes the idea of bringing the product to OCOP to promote and enhance the brand of clean incense in Hoi An.

Mr. Thach guides customers to mix the powder before making incense. Photo: NQ

Not only restoring the traditional incense production profession, Mr. Thach also flexibly integrated the facility into an experiential tourist destination. When tourists come to visit, they can make incense by themselves and take souvenir photos.

Up to now, Mr. Thach's incense making facility is gradually being completed, every day there are dozens of international and domestic visitors coming to visit and experience.

Tourists take souvenir photos when visiting the incense making facility. Photo: NQ

“I am renovating the garden, planting more flowers, rearranging the material storage area, and displaying incense sticks in a more organized and beautiful way. I hope that in the future, more tourists will know about the establishment and the products will be consumed more and more,” Mr. Thach shared.

Ms. Do Thi Bich Thuy - Vice Chairman of Cam Kim Commune People's Committee said, Currently in the locality there are 2 households making handmade incense. Mr. Pham Cong Thach has registered a business license to make incense in the commune.

Recently, the commune government organized training for Thach on skills when participating in the Kim Bong Community Tourism Cooperative Group (Cam Kim). Currently, this group has 70 people with more than 20 handicrafts such as weaving sedge mats, carpentry, seafaring, incense...

"The commune government also encourages young people to start businesses and love to preserve handicrafts to preserve the craft village and develop it into a tourist destination to attract tourists to experience it," said Ms. Thuy.

[VIDEO] - Mr. Thach shares about choosing incense making as a career to start a business :

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