Dried lotus leaf paintings are recognized as 3-star OCOP products.
Growing up in a rural border area, Pham Thi Dieu Lien has a special affection for the lotus of her hometown. From there, Lien had the idea of developing lotus tea with a unique processing method. Lotus flowers that have just opened to welcome the early morning sunlight will be picked and steeped in tea. The tea is wrapped in the middle of lotus flowers to fully absorb the fragrance and pure taste of heaven and earth. The process is done entirely by hand, gently, meticulously and passionately. Each lotus flower is steeped for 3-4 days to produce the finished product. When enjoying, the aroma of tea blends with the scent of wild lotus, giving the tea drinker an indescribable feeling. It has a bit of countryside mixed with a bit of elegance and poetry.
For tea connoisseurs, this is a precious gift from nature. For those who are not familiar with this drink, lotus-scented tea is something very interesting. They can buy it as a gift, which is both unique and shows respect for the recipient. “Each lotus-scented tea contains my faith, joy and love. My name Lien means lotus and I love lotus very much. I just want to turn this flower into products and gifts for everyone to enjoy. Now, the product is more well-received by everyone, I am very happy. I hope that in the future, lotus-scented tea products will be supported by more people” - Dieu Lien said.
Not only taking advantage of the pure scent of lotus flowers, Dieu Lien also uses lotus leaves to create works of art, called "Paintings on dried lotus leaves". With the idea and coordination of a local artist, Dieu Lien has successfully introduced to customers dried lotus leaf paintings under the brand name LienLotus. "As a child of An Nong commune, I cherish and cherish every existing local beauty. With my love for lotus, I found untold stories on dried lotus leaves that seemed to be discarded. I want to "breathe life" into each rustic leaf, turning them into unique works of art so as not to waste local resources. Currently, I am supported by customers. That is the motivation for me to continue realizing the idea of bringing "a second life" to lotus leaves" - Dieu Lien shared.
According to Dieu Lien, there is no fixed formula for the process of creating paintings. It all depends on the feelings and adjustments of the person making each leaf. Dieu Lien only selects leaves that are “full-grown” and brings them back to process, kill the leaf cells, and recreate the natural color with food coloring after removing all the mud and moss.
The time to pick lotus leaves must be from 5 - 7 am or in the cool afternoon to ensure the most freshness and perfection. Lotus leaves with different dark and light colors when arranged in a frame will form separate backgrounds, clearly showing the intact veins. Only by seeing the lotus leaf paintings of LienLotus with your own eyes can you see the creativity that has brought to the lotus leaf paintings the unique beauty.
Through the dried lotus leaf paintings, you will see familiar images of your homeland, swimming fish, peaceful landscapes appear vividly and emotionally. In addition, there are also Buddhist paintings, tourist attractions of the province combined with soft calligraphy, bringing deep layers of meaning about culture, spirit and spirituality. Through the lotus leaf paintings, people feel the story of creativity, love of nature and pride in indigenous cultural values.
“With my own efforts, I have achieved initial results. The dried lotus leaf painting product LienLotus is recognized as a 3-star OCOP product of Tinh Bien Town. This is an ideal stepping stone for me to affirm the value of the product to customers in all regions of the country. Currently, I am trying to build a raw material area, so that I can both produce tea and create unique lotus leaf paintings to serve the diverse needs of customers” - Dieu Lien added.
Along with that, Dieu Lien will open training classes for local idle women on the skills of producing lotus-scented tea, selecting and processing lotus leaves to participate in the process of bringing products from the homeland lotus to customers across the country, through the support of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “I hope that products crystallized from creativity and love for lotus will be supported by more people. So that in the future, lotus-scented tea products or LienLotus lotus leaf paintings will have a solid position in the market. Thereby, helping people feel more fully the beauty and value of the lotus from economic to spiritual” - Pham Thi Dieu Lien hopes.
THANH TIEN
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/-thoi-hon-cho-sen-a422350.html
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