Oh Hon Khoi salt fields

1. The Hon Khoi salt fields, with their vast clouds and sky, have become an artistic "resource" for photographers from all over the country. Most notably, among the photos honored at the SkyPixel 2018 photo contest for the flycam photography community, which attracted more than 30,000 works from photographers from 141 countries and territories, there is a photo of the Hon Khoi salt fields. That is the work "Harvesting salt" by author Nguyen Tan Tuan in Ho Chi Minh City.

In the early period of his musical career, musician Hinh Phuoc Lien wrote the song "Remembering from the South Wind" about a coastal countryside of Hon Khoi. It was both right and graceful when he called salt the heart of Hon Khoi, my dear. The musician also did not forget to dedicate to this land beautiful "musical images": Thousand sunny enamels, flowing cloud hair, sea flowers at the end of the rapids...

In 2015, I wrote the poem "Hon Khoi" to compete and won a prize in the campaign to compose poems, short stories, memoirs and songs to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Ninh Hoa town's establishment. The long poem with the main image of the homeland's salt streak shining, stirring up nostalgia: Groups of people in every late night or early morning dew still step out onto the road towards the fields/Over a hundred years, the salt has grown higher than the mountains/Over a hundred years/The bitter saltiness of the intestines and the fragrant lips...

Salt workers' last day's work in the salt fields. Photo: Duong Hoai An

2. Domestic press and many foreign newspapers have published many beautiful images of Hon Khoi salt fields. Netizens and backpackers always admire and praise the scenery of the sunset or early morning here.

In late May, when the Ninh Hoa Young Entrepreneurs Club asked me to support the design of some experimental tourism models, I chose Hon Khoi salt fields as the main destination in the tour to experience the rustic life in the southern countryside of Van Phong as well as the Ninh Hoa heritage tour. Visitors can not only immerse themselves in the vast fields with the shimmering colors of salt, clouds, and water, but also join in the rhythm of the salt workers' work: raking together, carrying together, harvesting together...

I also hope that in the group of people who "in the late night or early morning dew still step out onto the road towards the fields" as I wrote in the poem, there will soon be tourists accompanying them. They can be guests from big cities or international guests, coming to Hon Khoi, staying at homestays of local families who are dedicated to investing, living and "making salt" with the people.

3. Sometimes I worry with my Ninh Hoa friends that Tay Ninh has no sea to make salt, but the brand "Tay Ninh salt" is present in every market, grocery store, shop, supermarket... all over the country. Or in recent years, the products of stewed salt, bamboo salt, salt flowers... made from Sa Huynh salt of Ms. Tham Sahu have not only attracted attention domestically but also exported to other countries. Just ask, is there any young person in Ninh Hoa who is passionate about the salt of their people, daring to create a similar brand of Hon Khoi salt for their homeland?

With the renovation and upgrading of infrastructure serving production as well as investment in increasing the value of production and processing, Hon Khoi salt is increasingly reaching the material value of each grain of salt, reaching the economic and commercial value. But besides that, "salt life" also contains other values, although difficult to see clearly but can still be explained. Over the past century, Hon Khoi salt has been associated with many human destinies, many historical changes, many times of changing flesh and skin on this land. War or peace, drought or flood, good harvest or low price... Hon Khoi farmers through many generations have still diligently endured the sun and rain to preserve the traditional salt making profession for today, for tomorrow.

Is it time for the authorities to prepare a roadmap and submit a dossier to the competent authority to recognize the traditional salt-making profession in Hon Khoi as an intangible cultural heritage? Bac Lieu salt production has long been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. As one of the largest and most famous salt fields in the Central region and with a long history, Hon Khoi salt deserves to be included in that list.

Suddenly I thought, a "heritage profile" if officially recognized would be a landmark, a proud milestone, it would be the hinge in both preserving, conserving and sustainably developing the Hon Khoi salt profession, and contributing to more widely promoting the multifaceted value of Hon Khoi salt, including promoting and developing Ninh Hoa tourism, Khanh Hoa tourism.

Oh Hon Khoi, the salt fields still sparkle, sparkle, beckoning visitors...

LE QUOC SINH

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