Traditional rice paper village of Phu An revived

We went to Phu An commune in Ben Cat town - a locality about 15 kilometers from the north of Thu Dau Mot city in the early days of April and were quite surprised about the changes of the land of potentials. In addition to foster the rapid development in all aspects, many traditional cultural values are still preserved and developed by the local people, including the profession of making rice paper.

Rice paper makers are busy producing the most delicious and quality rice paper

Fame of a time

For a long time, Phu An commune has been famous for making rice paper and has become a familiar brand name of consumers inside and outside of the province. The profession of making rice paper has been attached to the people of Phu An for many generations. However, due to many impacts, this profession has gradually faded. Nguyen Thanh Rang, the leader of the Phu An Rice Paper Cooperative Group, said that the whole commune currently has about 15 households working as rice paper makers. In addition to the 10 households that have joined the cooperative group, a few more households are making rice paper on a small scale.

Rang recalled that more than 30 years ago, the profession of making rice paper was in Phu An. Initially, there were only a few small-scale households; gradually, it had been developed to a profession of main occupation to support many families. “I myself still remember the flourishing time of the profession; there were times when the whole commune had more than 100 households making rice paper; each house had at least one and up to 4-5 kitchens operating from early morning to noon. Every 4 a.m., rice paper makers wake up to prepare the processes including fire preparing, baking, drying and packaging for sale. At the time of Tet, an entire white covered area of rice paper is wherever you go; you can smell the aroma of rice paper. At that time, the atmosphere would be bustling and very happy,” added Rang cheerfully.

According to Rang, at that time many traders just came to take it all. Phu An rice paper is famous for being delicious, supple and not very crunchy every time it is rolled up. Especially, when rolled with fish meat and vegetables, it is very delicious, so it is very popular among customers. Therefore, in addition to traders, there are many people who come just to buy as gifts for relatives. At that time, many people knew and came to learn about Phu An rice paper. Phu An rice paper is also exported abroad.

In 2014, in order for Phu An rice paper village to develop stably, Phu An commune contacted Binh Duong provincial Cooperative Union to set up Phu An Rice Paper Cooperative Group aiming to receive support from policies of the State and to remove difficulties that households by profession were facing.

Technologies brought to traditional village

Having witnessed the baking stages with our own eyes, we can see that all the workmanship, ingenuity and hard work of the rice paper makers. In the midst of the scorching heat of April, the bakers still take advantages of their time to diligently coordinate and dry the rice paper to create the best rice paper.

According to those who are still attached to the profession, for the past 3 years, rice paper making households in Phu An have faced many difficulties when the price of raw materials increased while the output for the product was not available. There were times when rice paper was only consumed locally. In order to find a new direction for the craft village, local departments and branches have stepped in to support and change the baking method by investing into technology and trying every way to find the sales for the product.

Through many years witnessing the ups and downs of making rice paper and not resigned to the disappearance of the profession, in 2010, Nguyen Thanh Rang and his family at Ben Giang hamlet explored, learned and decided to gather investments into modern machinery at the price of more than VND 700 million for the traditional profession. Currently, Nguyen Thanh Rang is the owner of the largest rice paper making facility in Phu An commune with 15 employees.

 “Since I have a machine, I don't need to think much about having to maintain human resource for baking; now the oven only needs 15 workers who are paid VND 200,000 to 300,000 a day. In addition to greatly reducing labor costs, the investment into machinery in production has resulted in more products. In the past, when I made rice entirely by hand, for one day my facility could only produce about 300kg of rice paper; now the figure increases to 500kg. The selling price is from VND 35,000 to VND 40,000 a kilogram for traders who distribute throughout the Southern provinces,” Rang.

Over time, the profession of making rice paper in Phu An has gradually faded, but in reality, this profession is still "kept" by a number of local households by their passion and enthusiasm. In order for Phu An traditional rice paper to develop stably and sustainably, new resources are needed. Hopefully, more practical policies will come to the rice paper making households including preferential loans and support for material and technical foundations and branding to bring the profession of making rice paper back to its golden age while contributing to the preservation and promotion of local traditional professions.

Reported by Hong Phuong – Translated by Vi Bao