Elderly people "keep the fire" of traditional profession

For generations, the traditional rice paper making village of Dac Chau, Dong Tien ward has not only created jobs for people, but also contributed to economic development and ensured social security in the locality. After more than 100 years, the traditional craft here is still preserved by many families, especially the elderly who are always attached to, passing on and making efforts to promote the traditional craft of their ancestors.

The traditional rice paper making profession helps Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong's family (Dac Chau 1 residential group, Dong Tien ward) increase their income.

For over 40 years of working on traditional rice paper making, for 65-year-old Nguyen Thi Phuong, Dac Chau 1 residential group is not only a profession to earn a living but also a source of pride and a "country soul" passed down from generation to generation. In her conversation with us, Ms. Phuong recounted her childhood memories of following her mother to grind flour, spread flour, and make rice paper to sell at all the markets in the old Thieu Hoa district. Then, the rice paper making profession "seeped into her blood" without her realizing it. Growing up and starting a family with a villager, in addition to the time spent on planting and plowing, she and her husband devoted themselves to making rice paper to increase their income, raise their children to study, and have stable jobs.

This profession requires workers to stay up late, wake up early and can only work on sunny days. Therefore, on these days, at 4am, the kitchen of the couple is lit up to prepare the ingredients for making cakes, and dry them in time for the sun. Not only does she keep the profession to increase income, but what is valuable about her is her dedication and enthusiasm in sharing experiences with younger generations to preserve and promote the traditional profession. She carefully guides everyone from how to choose ingredients, to how to dry and bake the cakes so that they are crispy, chewy and fragrant with the traditional taste.

According to Ms. Phuong, to make a delicious cake, in addition to the weather factor, the baker must be meticulous in every step, from choosing the ingredients to making the cake. The rice used to make the cake is usually Q5 rice, the rice is soaked for about 30 minutes, then scooped out and ground into rice flour. The stage of spreading the cake is also extremely important, the flour must be spread evenly so that the cake has a moderate thickness, when the cake is cooked, take it out very skillfully so that the cake does not tear or distort.

Thanks to the delicious, crispy products with their own unique flavor, Mrs. Phuong's family's rice paper is widely consumed in the provincial market. On average, her family makes about 800 cakes a day, especially during holidays and Tet when the amount of cakes made is more, after deducting expenses, the average income is about 10 million VND/month.

“I always keep in mind that old age must be happy, healthy, and useful, so as long as we are healthy, my husband and I will continue to make cakes. Seeing the craft village develop more and more, attracting many people to participate in preserving and promoting the traditional craft of our ancestors, we, the elderly, are very happy. As the people here often say, the taste of rice paper is the taste of the homeland, the efforts of our ancestors have forged and will last forever” - Ms. Phuong shared.

Not only Mrs. Phuong, Mr. Le Duc Ngoc, from Dac Chau 2 residential group is also a skilled worker and has also contributed a lot to preserving and developing the Dac Chau rice paper brand. Born and raised in a craft village, his father died early, so from a young age, Mr. Ngoc followed his mother to learn how to soak rice, make and bake rice paper. When he grew up and reached the age of marriage, like many people here, in addition to farming, to increase family income, he also attached himself to the rice paper making profession. Currently, his family makes about 1,000 rice papers every day, with a stable consumption market, after deducting expenses, bringing in an income of more than 10 million VND/month. What he is most proud of is that thanks to this traditional profession, he and his wife have been able to raise 3 children to study, have jobs and a stable economy .

Along with his profession, Mr. Ngoc is also enthusiastic about passing on his profession to younger generations as well as those who want to learn the profession. Having been involved in the profession for many years, Mr. Ngoc always has in mind what to do and how to make the products of the craft village reach further and further. “After being promoted to build OCOP products, I realized that this is an opportunity to continuously improve product quality as well as bring consumers the best products, thereby making more people know about the craft village and also to increase my family's income. Therefore, I have boldly improved the production process, invested in flour milling machines, coating machines, while ensuring to preserve the traditional flavor” - Mr. Ngoc said.

Mr. Ngoc is also the first person to build a brand of rice paper that meets OCOP standards in the locality. Since then, he has contributed with the people in the residential group to continue spreading the crispy, rich flavor of Dac Chau rice paper, becoming the pride of the people of Dong Tien ward in particular and Thanh Hoa province in general.

Rice paper making used to be a sideline job for the locality. In recent years, with the attention of authorities at all levels in creating conditions for households to borrow capital, expand production scale, increase propaganda on social platforms and the increasing demand of consumers, rice paper making has become the main source of income for many households. Currently, in the ward, there are 200 households directly engaged in rice paper making, creating jobs for hundreds of workers, with an income of over 8 million VND/person/month.

Proud of their ancestors’ traditional craft, under the skillful hands of the elderly like Mrs. Phuong, Mr. Ngoc and many other elderly people, they have become typical examples in the Dac Chau rice paper craft village. They are the “bridge” between the past and the present, both preserving the spirit of the traditional craft and contributing to “passing on the torch” to the younger generation, helping to bring the traditional rice paper craft village of Dac Chau far and wide and affirming its brand in the market.

Article and photos: Trung Hieu

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nguoi-cao-tuoi-giu-lua-nghe-truyen-thong-267244.htm