E-magazine Young people "renew" the soul of the countryside

(GLO)-From ingredients and dishes associated with memories of their hometowns, many young people are making efforts to "upgrade" traditional products by innovating: being creative in the way they make things, applying technology, and promoting flexibly, with the desire to bring the flavors of their hometowns far and wide.

From her grandmother's old batches of fermented sticky rice, Ms. Ngo Thao Vuong (born in 1995, Creative Director of Nep Viet Heritage Joint Stock Company, 194 Ly Thai To, Quy Nhon Nam Ward) started a business with the desire to bring familiar flavors back to the Vietnamese dining table in a new way.

In her family, fermented sticky rice water used to be a post-natal tonic drink, handmade from her hometown's sticky rice. In 2021, Ms. Vuong and her colleagues developed the product NEP SINCE 1995 - a line of fermented appetizer drinks from sticky rice, aimed at digestive health, suitable for all ages.

Each batch of sticky rice is processed and fermented using traditional methods to preserve the original flavor. However, the young people in the NEP team have applied science to control the fermentation process, temperature, humidity, ensuring safety and stable quality.

NEP SINCE 1995 is expected to become an appetizer that connects all family members during family meals. Photo: DVCC

For Ms. Vuong, NEP is not just a product but also a way of telling a cultural story: Every detail of design, packaging, and display is associated with the spirit of local culture.

Accordingly, the brand has cooperated with artisans from Phu Gia conical hat village and Van Son pottery to create display products, or create a wooden tray inspired by Tuong art.

With the desire to maximize the value of lotus, Mr. Nguyen Van Xong (born in 1992, owner of the Nam Xong brand, Hoai Nhon ward) has built a model to develop lotus products in a green and sustainable direction.

Starting in 2018 with an area of ​​only 1 hectare and 3 workers, Nam Xong has now expanded its raw material area by 50 hectares, connecting with the lotus growing area in Phu My Nam commune. The facility has a 300 m² processing workshop, invested in a grinding, cold drying and vacuuming system to ensure the quality of its products, such as: roasted lotus seed tea, lotus seed powder, lotus leaf tea, lotus heart tea, dried lotus seeds and lotus-infused Shan Tuyet tea.

Every year, Nam Xong creates stable jobs for 9 permanent workers and more than 40 seasonal workers, supplying hundreds of thousands of products to the market. That effort helped Mr. Xong and his colleagues win first prize in the Provincial Youth Creative Startup Project Competition in 2023, have 2 3-star OCOP products in 2024; and win the Encouragement Prize for the Rural Youth Startup Project 2025 organized by the Central Youth Union.

Not only stopping at production, from 2022, Mr. Xong opened a type of experiential tourism on the lotus pond of his hometown. He built a small hut in the middle of the lake for visitors to enjoy lotus tea and watch the lotus bloom; or go on a tour to visit the clean vegetable farm and traditional craft villages related to coconut.

Every lotus blooming season (from March to July), this place welcomes about 2,000 visitors, bringing a peaceful and lively atmosphere, helping local people increase their income. Looking towards the period 2025-2028, Mr. Xong and his colleagues are completing FDA, HACCP, and HALAL standards for export, and are preparing to register 3 new provincial OCOP products in 2026.

From her mother's traditional job of making gai leaf cakes, Ms. Ho Thi My Phuc (born 1990, owner of Hoang Dong establishment, Binh An commune) has found a sustainable development direction for this rustic cake.

In the early years, all stages were manual, hard work and low productivity, the cakes were difficult to preserve for long, so they were only consumed locally. Realizing that if she did not innovate, the profession would have difficulty surviving, in 2023, she invested in modern machinery to support the production process, helping to increase productivity, shorten time and extend the shelf life of the cakes from 3-4 days to 7-10 days. Each cake package is vacuum-sealed, preserving its elasticity and unique flavor.

“Innovation does not mean abandoning the old profession. Machines only help reduce the heavy work, but the delicate parts such as shaping the filling and wrapping the leaves still have to be done by hand by the artisans. Thanks to that, the cakes are both precise and retain the spirit of the profession,” said Ms. Phuc.

Not only investing in production, she also learned how to promote products on digital platforms. Every week, she organizes livestream sales sessions on TikTok and Facebook, attracting tens of thousands of views. Each broadcast can consume 5,000-10,000 cakes. In addition, she often shares short videos introducing the process from choosing ramie leaves, rolling sticky rice to steaming cakes, so that viewers can understand and appreciate the efforts of the workers.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/nguoi-tre-lam-moi-hon-que-post569905.html