Rediscovering childhood memories
The story began nearly 10 years ago. At that time, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang, former Standing Deputy Secretary of Bo Trach District Party Committee (formerly) had just retired and returned to live in Van Trach Commune (now Bo Trach Commune). His hometown Van Village is a midland hilly area, with charming scenery including Vuc Noi Lake, known as the "hanging lake on the mountain" and cool green pine forests, likened to a miniature Da Lat. However, the beautiful scenery of his hometown and a prosperous material life still could not make Mr. Quang forget his childhood memories, with the fragrant scent and the traditional incense-making profession of the village.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang said: In my hometown, at the end of the year, many families in the village are busy making incense by hand to use during the coming Tet holiday and spring. At that time, I often followed my father to the hill to dig up vetiver plants and help with the incense making process. Like many people in the village, I was proficient in the incense making process since I was young. But then, the fierce war, along with many other objective reasons, the traditional incense making profession of Van Mai village gradually disappeared.
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| Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang introduces incense products of Lang Van Clean Incense Production Cooperative - Photo: PP |
With a deep affection for childhood memories and the traditional incense making profession of the village, so in the first days of retirement, becoming a "time billionaire", instead of traveling and gathering with his children and grandchildren, Mr. Quang quietly went alone to the hills and forests to dig up vetiver plants to make incense. Initially, he only intended to make it for his family's use and to give to relatives and neighbors. But then, the people he gave the incense to, when using it, felt the ancient vetiver scent, fresh, gentle, non-toxic, evoking memories of the old Tet flavor, so they came back to order.
However, he alone, with a completely manual production method, could not meet those "orders". With the encouragement of his family, relatives and the desire to preserve the old profession of his ancestors, he decided to go to famous incense-making villages in the country to learn and learn more about incense making. In 2019, Mr. Quang invested in buying manual machines, purchasing raw materials, hiring workers and starting to open an incense production facility.
By 2021, when orders were increasing, Mr. Quang boldly invested in buying more machinery and equipment to create a synchronous, closed production line, such as: Automatic incense making machine, powder grinding machine, powder mixer, bud pressing machine, Kim Tien incense making machine (burning overnight) ... and upgraded to Lang Van Clean Incense Production Cooperative (HTX), and at the same time registered the trademark with the Department of Intellectual Property ( Ministry of Science and Technology ).
Brand building
According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang, offering incense is a beautiful cultural feature of the nation for generations. The incense sticks are used in sacred and solemn places, so not only the quality is important, but also the purity in all stages. There may be many types of incense on the market that are soaked in chemicals or mixed with other ingredients to reduce costs, but at Lang Van Clean Incense Production Cooperative, it is certain that all products are made from completely natural ingredients and absolutely no chemicals are used.
The products of Lang Van Clean Incense Production Cooperative are made from the main raw materials: vetiver, ma reng, agarwood, and lolot. These are plants and grasses with natural fragrance, products of the mountains and forests, used to make incense powder. However, how to combine and blend the raw materials to get the highest quality products is not a simple matter.
“More than 80% of our incense powder is taken from the vetiver tree (taken from the roots to the trunk, leaves about 15cm). However, vetiver has a lot of essential oil, a strong scent, and is difficult to burn, so we have to mix it with 10% of ma reng leaf powder, a climbing plant that has the effect of softening the scent, burning easily, and making the incense ash whiter. Meanwhile, 10% of the bark powder of the Litsea tree is the glue that creates adhesion for a more durable and beautiful product,” Mr. Quang revealed the secret of mixing his incense powder.
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| Every day, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang still sits at the incense production machine, like a passion that has entered his blood and flesh - Photo: PP |
According to Mr. Quang, although we have invested in modern machinery to increase productivity, reduce costs, and meet consumer demand, many stages of incense production still have to be done manually. “To preserve the natural color and characteristic aroma of natural ingredients, we absolutely do not use dryers or charcoal to dry incense. Incense must be dried in moderate sunlight and light wind to dry slowly. If it is hot and sunny, with high temperatures, it must be dried in the shade to dry gradually,” Mr. Quang added.
Currently, Lang Van Clean Incense Production Cooperative has 2 product lines (from vetiver powder and agarwood powder) with 11 products that have been assigned codes, barcodes and trademark protection. The products of the Cooperative are not only consumed locally but also present in many provinces and cities across the country, such as: Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Dong Nai... and some countries where Bo Trach's children live such as Laos, Cambodia, Russia... Every year, the Cooperative's revenue reaches more than 700 million VND, creating jobs for 5 regular workers and dozens of seasonal workers with salaries from 5-6 million VND/month.
After nearly 10 years of efforts, up to now, the brand "Huong Lang Van" restored, preserved and developed by Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang has received the trust and love of consumers near and far. Lang Van incense products are certified as 3-star OCOP products, typical agricultural and rural products of the province...
To proactively source raw materials for production, since 2021, Mr. Quang has gone to Thanh Chuong (Nghe An) to learn about techniques and buy seedlings to plant under the forest canopy. Up to now, Lang Van Clean Incense Production Cooperative has planted 3 hectares of vetiver. In addition, the Cooperative has also cooperated with 7 other local households to plant an additional 2 hectares of vetiver. Thanks to that, the Cooperative not only has enough quality raw materials for production but also sells them to other incense-making establishments.
Talking about Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quang, Chairman of Bo Trach Commune People's Committee Do Manh Tai shared: "When he was still working, Mr. Quang was an exemplary cadre, a role model for our young generation. When he retired, he did not rest but always struggled to restore, preserve and develop the traditional profession of his ancestors. Lang Van Clean Incense Production Cooperative has now affirmed its brand, its products are made entirely from natural materials, without chemicals, so they are welcomed and trusted by customers everywhere. Thereby, contributing to job creation, promoting local socio-economic development".
Phan Phuong
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202511/dua-huong-thom-lang-van-bay-xa-aeb06a6/
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