Bao Hamlet

Ha Thanh Street (Nha Trang City) has two entrances from two main streets, Tran Quy Cap and 2/4; no matter which way, their final meeting point is the Cai River. From 2/4 Street, turn to Ha Thanh, a few hundred meters to a three-way intersection, turn left to Xom Hue , leading to Tran Quy Cap Street; turn right to Xom Bao, a familiar name to the locals here more than... half a century ago. From here, paper bags used to contain sugar, rice, flour, beans... are transported to all provinces and cities in the country.

Yes, there used to be a quiet profession in the heart of the city. The whole neighborhood worked to glue paper bags to supply dry goods vendors in the markets. Quiet, hard-working, a job suitable for the elderly, the disabled, women and children, the income was not much but it had been attached to the neighborhood for many years in the last century.

Old paper packaging.

Back then, it was easy to recognize when turning into Xom Bao that every house had paper bags, from unpacked cement bags to neatly tied finished bags. In fact, before 1975, there were a few households in the hamlet that glued bags to sell at Dam market and Xom Moi market. After 1975, cement packaging was scarce, with the "traditional" bag-sticking job, the whole hamlet rushed to make packaging for Hon Khoi Cement Factory with meticulous tasks such as: gluing bags, punching holes in bags, threading strings to sew bags... utilizing all laborers from the elderly to children. Later, Hon Khoi Cement Factory no longer used paper bags, the hamlet switched to making bags for the market. This job did not attract the young generation who had to sit at home all day folding and gluing. They went to work as factory workers, construction workers..., and came home at night to help their families glue bags.

At that time, the source of paper bags was from Ha Tien cement, bought in Ho Chi Minh City. In the village, there was a family that specialized in supplying bags and a family that specialized in shaking bags to clean cement dust (called bag beating), the house had to have a spacious garden. Beating bags and shaking dust was quite a hard process. To make a 10kg or 20kg paper bag, it had to go through stages such as: cutting the paper, ironing it straight (by using a blunt knife to rub hard on the paper, then having to "patch" the torn parts, then arranging them in long rows to be glued and glued on the sides...). Every house was spacious, the paper was arranged in long rows, the hands quickly finished gluing and then folding the bottom, ten of the same size as if folded by machine... In the past, I often visited my friend's house on Ha Thanh street, my generation also knew that there was a famous tailor shop in Ha Thanh, we often sewed clothes here.

Peaceful scene in Ha Thanh area.

One afternoon, suddenly remembering Bao Hamlet, I turned my bike down Ha Thanh Street from Tran Quy Cap Street. I could not find Bao Hamlet with its large earthen houses and paper used to wrap the inside and outside layers. I stood right at Bao Hamlet without knowing that it was the old Bao Hamlet. A girl told me that back then the whole hamlet made bags, from gluing to sewing, unable to keep up with the work. Her family also glued bags, the work was so much that the truck carrying the bags to the South could not deliver them in time. Now there is only one family left.

Following her instructions, I went to Mrs. Huong's house, who is 55 years old and still maintains her profession. She said that since she became a daughter-in-law, she has been doing the job of gluing bags until now. The old people at that time have all gone home to enjoy the clouds and sky, she does it because her customers still order, and she has a little work all year round. The source of paper is still bought in Ho Chi Minh City, there are 2 types of bags made from old paper and new paper. Mrs. Huong explained that when plastic packaging appeared, paper bags "ran out of use". Customers do not use many paper bags but they are more diverse, such as using paper bags (new) to package fried chicken, french fries, mixed rice paper... The source of paper bags for Nha Trang City now mainly comes from Ninh Hoa town, where many families still do the job of gluing bags. Now, paper bags are diverse, have beautiful designs, and are made by machines, so the craft is still maintained little by little...

Saying goodbye to Xom Bao, I drove to the river. The canoes carrying tourists to the island docked after their trips. The afternoon was so peaceful when looking from this side across Con De, the bell tower of Ngoc Thuy church was faintly visible. I drove across Ha Ra bridge and turned down Con De to look this way. It had been a long time since I had been there. The new cement bridge replaced the old rickety bridge. From Con De looking across Ha Thanh, I saw the white Buddha statue of Long Son pagoda. Never before had the Cai Nha Trang river ceased to fascinate me. The memory of an old Xom Bao seemed isolated from the outside world . In such a quiet space, the houses with rows of coconut trees, the spacious gardens, there were people silently and silently sticking bags of agricultural products every day in the markets in the old city, how precious it was because among the current types of packaging, paper packaging has the shortest decomposition time.

DAO THI THANH TUYEN

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/nhung-vung-ky-uc/202407/xom-bao-cf943c4/