The "fire keepers" of traditional crafts

The

Mr. Nguyen Van Dao - the creator of the Khuc Phu Ba Hao fish sauce brand.

Hoang Thanh commune still preserves an extremely valuable asset, which is the profession of making fish sauce with the famous Khuc Phu brand. Here, not only the middle-aged and elderly people, but also many young people are making efforts to make and preserve the profession. Among them, we must mention Mr. Nguyen Van Dao, born in 1988, in Bac Son village.

Leading us to visit his family's fish sauce production area, Mr. Dao said: "My family has been making traditional fish sauce for many generations. Moreover, during my childhood, I also witnessed the hardships and worries of my parents to build up the Ba Hao fish sauce production facility and build trust with consumers." Mr. Dao confided: Back then, the family had a boat, so my father often went fishing at sea to have raw materials to make fish sauce, while my mother stayed home to make fish sauce. After harvesting a batch of fish sauce, my mother would cycle to sell in neighboring communes and traditional markets. When it came to building trust with consumers, the fish sauce production profession encountered many difficulties and challenges due to the influence of the market mechanism and the increasingly scarce raw materials for making fish sauce. Understanding the hardships of my parents, with the desire to bring the Ba Hao fish sauce brand further, in 2016, after returning from studying abroad in Japan, I took over my family's fish sauce factory. Initially, I invested in building an additional factory including a product packaging house, a fish sauce filtration house, a salt storage warehouse and a product storage warehouse. Then, I changed each stage of production. From the raw material selection stage, I often choose fresh anchovies and mackerel that have just been caught from the sea. Then the fish is mixed with salt and fermented according to the traditional method, completely without additives. Through months of sun drying and careful filtering, each drop of rich fish sauce is born, carrying the salty taste of the sea and the persistent labor of people.

Not stopping at preserving the profession, Mr. Dao also actively participates in the OCOP program, standardizing the production process, improving packaging, investing in machinery to bring the product closer to the large market. Thanks to that, Ba Hao fish sauce products have achieved OCOP product status in 2021, known by many consumers. Currently, the factory always has about 80 tons of fermented fish sauce with a consumption output of about 2,000 liters of fish sauce/month. During peak times such as the time before Tet, the consumption output increases to about 3,000 liters/month, bringing quite high revenue to the family. Mr. Dao's efforts in preserving the traditional fish sauce profession not only contribute to increasing economic value but also create more jobs for many workers, preserving the local culture.

In Pu Luong commune, over the past years, thanks to the efforts of women, especially Ms. Ha Thi Dung, the brocade weaving profession of the Thai ethnic group has gradually revived and increasingly gained a firm foothold in the market.

Talking about preserving brocade weaving, Ms. Dung confided: For the Thai ethnic group, brocade weaving is always an indispensable cultural beauty in daily life. Brocade weaving is also considered a standard to evaluate the ingenuity of Thai girls. Since I was a child, I have seen my grandmothers and mothers sitting at the loom, diligently polishing each thread of fabric to make dresses and scarves. Since then, my love for brocade has been nurtured. Later, my mother also taught me how to weave brocade, how to create decorative patterns on brocade... However, under the pressure of modern life, the clattering sound of the loom has gradually disappeared from each stilt house, some people are no longer interested in the traditional brocade weaving craft. Therefore, I always wonder how to preserve the brocade weaving craft of my people. With my experience, in 2006 I boldly borrowed money to buy a loom, opened a weaving facility, and called on local women to join in weaving.

When she first started her business, Ms. Dung's brocade weaving facility faced many difficulties and challenges because the women were inexperienced, and brocade products were difficult to compete in modern society. However, because of her passion for the profession and the support of local authorities and friends, Ms. Dung made efforts to research, innovate designs, and create products with unique patterns and colors to sell to tourists . Thanks to that, up to now, brocade products from Ms. Dung's weaving facility have had a solid position in community tourism spots, and are trusted and chosen by many tourists. Currently, her weaving facility is creating jobs for about 40 women in the commune, with an income of 5 - 7 million VND/month.

Not only does it bring income to the women, Ms. Dung's work also contributes to preserving the traditional cultural features of the Thai ethnic group. Now, when coming to Pu Luong, visitors can not only admire beautiful brocade products but also have the opportunity to learn about the weaving process through the skillful hands of local women.

In the current market mechanism, craft villages in the province have been facing many difficulties and challenges. Therefore, more than anyone else, the role of those who "keep the fire of the craft" is even more important. With their love, passion and skillful hands, we believe that craftsmen in craft villages like Mr. Dao and Ms. Dung will do well in their role as successors, keeping the flame of the craft village alive for today's and future generations.

Article and photos: Nguyen Dat

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nhung-nguoi-giu-lua-nghe-truyen-thong-259654.htm