Rekindling the source of rice civilization in the Mekong Delta

On the morning of December 3, at Nguyen Van Binh Book Street ( Ho Chi Minh City), Hoa Sen Foundation - Nguyen An Ninh Digital Library in collaboration with the Vietnam Rice Industry Association (Vietrisa), TIM Corp and Mekong HUB x DOC opened a series of direct - online activities "Rice civilization in the Mekong Delta".

The event marked the starting point of a six-day journey to explore rice plants, culture, history and spiritual life of the residents of the Southwest region in a modern context, while bringing the public back to the alluvium, the rice grains and the lasting memories that have nurtured the souls of many generations in the fertile delta region.

Space to display images and information about the land of Nine Dragons, the cradle of the rice civilization of the Mekong Delta.

At the opening ceremony, the Mekong Delta Rice Civilization Bookcase project was officially introduced, aiming to build an open source of documents to serve farmers, students, researchers and a wide range of readers interested in the cultural identity of the Mekong Delta. The project is operated according to a socialized model, mobilizing student volunteers with the participation of universities and technology enterprises.

According to Dr. Quach Thu Nguyet, Chairwoman of the Lotus Fund Management Board, this long-term strategy relies on digitizing documents, publishing comics, skill books and developing mobile applications to bring knowledge closer to the community.

“The Mekong Delta is facing many challenges in education and reading culture. We are doing this project to make knowledge more accessible to people, from books, audiobooks, videos to mobile applications,” said Dr. Nguyet.

The Robam Ream-ker melody concert performed by the Tra Vinh University art group.

At the event, the Tra Vinh University art troupe also performed the Robam Ream-ker melody. Dr. Son Cao Thang, Deputy Head of the Department of Southern Khmer Language - Culture - Arts, Tra Vinh University, said that the performance was the result of many field trips to preserve three types of Southern Khmer theater, including Robam, Du Ke and Di Ke.

Another highlight of the event was the chocolate making activity from cocoa from the Mekong Delta, under the guidance of 2-star Michelin expert - Olivier Nicod (Meilleur Ouvrier de France). Guests were able to directly experience the process of turning cocoa into chocolate, and then feel the subtle flavor of cocoa from the West through both touch and taste.

Along with the performances and experiences, the bilingual exhibition series in Vietnamese and English introduces unique aspects of the Mekong Delta from the potential and challenges in developing new rice varieties, traditional boat models, traditional and modern farming tools, to images of southern birds in the works of artist Dao Van Hoang.

The festival 'Rice civilization of the Mekong Delta' attracted the attention of experts, researchers and the public of the city.

Within the framework of the festival, enterprises under the Vietnam Rice Industry Association also displayed hybrid rice varieties, rice products and agricultural promotion documents in the form of books and videos. In addition, from December 4 to 8, a series of thematic seminars were held with contents ranging from "River civilization of the Mekong Delta", "Rice in the cultural life of residents of the Mekong Delta", to "History, ecology, livelihood and culture of the Mekong Delta" ... along with many meaningful activities such as "Bringing books for ice cream", traditional art performances and many experiences for young people.

The series of events not only recreates the journey of rice from the past to the present, but also invites the community to open a “new journey of reclamation”. Thanks to that, the agricultural cultural heritage of the Mekong Delta has the opportunity to be preserved and spread, helping this land continue to firmly be the rice granary, cultural granary and pride of the future.

Huong Tran, Hong Ngoc (News and Ethnic Newspaper)

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/khoi-lai-mach-nguon-van-minh-lua-nuoc-dong-bang-song-cuu-long-a194929.html