Keeping fire of profession, keeping soul of culture...

After months of failed sales, with pain every night, Nguyen Van Au finally found a "way" for his family's finished incense products to reach foreign markets. He believes that keeping the traditional incense profession is also to keep the culture left by his forefathers.

Busy days

On the road filled with the gentle scent of incense, under the shining sunlight, following Pham Quoc Bao, an officer of Di An ward, we visited the incense making facility of Nguyen Van Au, 80 years old, in the Binh Minh 2 neighborhood. Mr. Bao said that when talking about Mr. Au, everyone in the neighborhood calls him by his familiar name - Mr. Sau Au.

Incense sticks being produced by industrial machines

On both sides of the road, in the large yard of the production area, bright yellow and red incense bouquets spread out like flowers blooming under the golden sunlight. Suddenly, I felt a surge of emotions as if heaven and earth were transitioning to welcome a lunar new year. Going deep into the production area, we heard the sounds of industrial machines, the voices and laughter of incense makers, creating a bustling atmosphere.

Bouquets of incense sticks blooming brightly

Warmly welcoming us, Mr.Sau Au said that every Tet holiday comes, my facility is busy with orders. Holding the incense sticks in his hand, Mr. Au sadly recounted: "In the past, incense sticks were made all over this area. It was a hereditary profession of families living here for a long time. At that time, every street had incense sticks. Every house and every person made incense sticks. The sound of splitting bamboo and sharpening toothpicks become the "homeland language" in the hearts of every countryside person. During the harvest season, traders bought and transported a lot of goods, making the atmosphere here very bustling".

Also according to Mr. Au, for many generations, incense has become a traditional cultural feature in the mind of Vietnamese people. On ancestral altars, in temples, on Tet and great holidays, incense is indispensable. But then, with fierce market competition, industrial parks springing up, rapid urbanization, most young people of the "incense stick village" have changed their careers. Some still clinging to their profession have joined Mr. Sau Au's facility.

Even though being old, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, a resident of Binh Minh 2 neighborhood, has still worked as an incense maker for the facility, due to her passion to this job. She shared: "Since childhood, I have been attached to the job of making incense sticks. When I reach my old age and no longer do this job, I miss it very much. Therefore, 4 years ago, I applied to work at Mr. Au's incense production facility to continue doing the traditional profession of my ancestors. I feel happy that the profession imbued with traditional culture continues being preserved and increasingly expanded and developed. I’m also happy that the traditional profession still brings a stable source of income to workers here."

Insence products promoted

Although Di An incense stick village is now the only production facility operated by Mr. Sau Au, the facility's finished incense products have been present in foreign markets for many years. Standing next to the incense sticks drying in the yard, Mr. Sau Au confided: "With the desire to expand the market, I brought incense to all markets in Saigon, but most of the stores already had connections. When the sales pitch failed, I "suffered" every night, looking for ways to get my products into everyone, gaining a foothold in the market, increasing the value of the craft village's products and creating more incomes for my family and laborers.

The finished incense sticks being dried under the sunlight

After many days of perseverance, Mr. Sau Au's incense shop was finally accepted by customers and the quantity of products increased day by day. “In 2005, I was fortunate to meet some incense exporting establishments and they ordered my products. Every month, my facility exported 2 containers of finished incense products and then expanded to markets in some Western provinces. And my family's facility grew day by day…", Mr. Sau Au confided. He also said that incense sticks are not only in Vietnamese culture, but also in the culture of some Asian countries. In 2008, he used more modern machines for production at the needs of foreign customers. Currently, Mr. Sau Au's incense production facility has nearly 100 workers. On average, the facility exports 3 containers of finished incense products to Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, India... every month.

“After many years, this profession has helped my family stabilize their lives and create jobs with good income for a number of the local workers. I always remind my children to keep their profession because this is the traditional culture of their ancestors. In addition to domestic consumption, we must bring our homeland's products to foreign markets", Mr. Sau Au shared.

Reported by Phuong Le-Translated by Kim Tin