Craft villages preparing for Tet

Farmer busy taking care of yellow apricot trees

The apricot growing village was established in 2004 by Mr. Tran Van Thong, who brought apricot trees from Ben Tre province to grow in Hamlet 4, Tan Tay Commune, Thanh Hoa District, Long An Province and has increasingly brought high economic efficiency. In 2020, the Tan Tay Commune Apricot Growing Village was recognized as a craft village by the Provincial People's Committee.

By 2023, the Provincial People's Committee approved the Project to develop the Tan Tay Commune Apricot Growing Village in association with Long An tourism development until 2030. At this time, apricot growers are busy taking care of apricot trees to bring to serve the Lunar New Year market.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Duoc (Hamlet 4, Tan Tay Commune, Thanh Hoa District) taking care of apricot trees for the Tet market

Mr. Nguyen Tan Duoc (Hamlet 4, Tan Tay Commune, Thanh Hoa District) started growing yellow apricots nearly 20 years ago and is also one of the first growers in the locality.

At first, he only planted a few trees around his house for decoration during Tet. However, from his passion, he realized the economic value of apricot and was determined to develop them into a sustainable profession.

In the early years, Mr. Duoc bought seeds himself. At that time, the Internet was not popular, so he mainly learned from books, newspapers, radio, planting and studying experience in other localities.

Thanks to his perseverance, Mr. Duoc gradually developed from a few hundred trees to more than 3,000 trees on an area of ​​over 2.2 hectares. Currently, his garden mainly grows 5-petal and 7-petal yellow apricot trees.

Each year, he supplies about 500 trees to the market, most of which are 4-5 year old with prices ranging from 1.5-5 million VND. Many special trees are worth up to 150 million VND thanks to their age, shape and graceful appearance.

Mr. Duoc shared: “In the past, the value of apricot tree depended a lot on the root system, but today, the deciding factor lies in the beauty of the flowers along with the age, strength of the roots, trunk, branches and the overall harmony of the tree. Growers must be truly passionate to be able to make a living from it. The first two years are the most difficult period because the tree is still young, susceptible to pests and diseases, and growers must take care of it little by little to shape and define the tree.”

This Tet, Mr. Duoc plans to sell about 70 trees to the market, most of which will be sold right after Tet, meeting the needs of enthusiasts or those who want to buy for the next Tet season. He plans to supply about 500 trees on the occasion of the Lunar New Year of the horse 2026, with the hope of serving a complete spring to those who love yellow apricots.

Bustling spring drum sounds

When the Lunar New Year is almost knocking on our doors, Binh An Drum Village is bustling with the sound of chiseling and testing drums from nearly 20 households.

Mr. Nguyen Van An (Binh An Hamlet, Binh Lang Commune, Tan Tru District) and his wife are busy completing orders in time to deliver to lion-monk-dragon troupes, temples, pagodas, etc in the 12th lunar month. He usually starts work at 5-6am every day, but as Tet approaches, the workload is so heavy that he has to wake up between 1-2am.

Artisan Nguyen Van An (Binh An Hamlet, Binh Lang Commune, Tan Tru District) checks the quality of drums before delivering them to customers

“The number of orders during Tet is doubled, in the 12th lunar month alone, I received 32 orders. It takes a long time to complete a drum, sometimes several months. Depending on the size and type, each drum will cost from 400,000 VND to tens of millions of VND" - Mr. An shared.

According to annual practice, he usually receives Tet orders from the 8th to 12th lunar month and completes them before the 29th and 30th of Tet. There are many years when they cannot finish on time,  so Mr. An and his wife have to work until the 1st and 2nd to deliver to customers.

Near Tet, many lion - unicorn - dragon dance troupes in the province come to Nam Men Lion Drum Facility (Binh An Hamlet, Binh Lang Commune, Tan Tru District) to test the drums

In the art of lion - unicorn - dragon dance, the sound of the drum plays a role in replacing the sound of firecrackers, bringing a bustling, joyful atmosphere in the first days of spring.

According to Mr. An, for the drum to resonate, the worker needs to be highly skilled. "Depending on the region, area, and usage needs, each type of drum will have different sound requirements. For lion drums, the sound must be urgent and bustling, while for temple drums, the sound must be resonant and have high and low tones. To produce different sounds, the craftsman must have a good sense of sound, be meticulous in the stages of processing buffalo skin, covering the drum, hammering nails, etc." said Mr. An.

Facing fierce competition with industrial lion drum products, Mr. An still strives to work, inheriting the long-standing tradition of his family.

In 2023, the Nam Men Lion Drum brand was presented the 4-star OCOP Product Certificate by the Provincial People's Committee and began to appear on e-commerce platforms. This is a great motivation for Mr. An to continue to strive, passing on the passion to the next generation.

Although times have changed, he still believes in making drums with heart, always being meticulous in the production stages. Thanks to that, rice drums, Bat Nha drums, temple drums, etc have a lifespan of decades.

Having been working in the traditional drum making profession for 5 years, Mr. Huynh Anh Khoa (Ward 5, Tan An City) said: “Previously, I was a PU painter, and my cousin introduced me to drum making, etc. During the drum making process, I encountered many difficulties such as body aches due to having to use strong force to pull the drum strings, often cutting my hands and feet, etc. But because I love the job, I always try my best, hoping to deliver quality products to users”.

Ba Thuy Tram Dieu May rural tourist spot (Tan Tay commune, Thanh Hoa district) of Mr. Huynh Van Thuy is built with Western Vietnamese style

As Tet approaches, Mr. Khoa is busier than usual. Every day he comes to the drum facility from early morning and leaves at 10-11 pm. “Every day at work, I hear the sound echoing throughout the neighborhood, making me eager for Tet, quickly finishing the work to celebrate Tet with my family” - Mr. Khoa happily said.

Tet is coming, traditional craft villages such as Tan Tay and Binh An become even more vibrant. Not only producing sophisticated and valuable handicrafts, craft villages also preserve the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation in general and the province in particular./.

Binh An drum village currently has about 20 households still engaged in the profession. The Commune Farmers' Association actively supports households through many practical activities such as preferential loans to develop production, promote products through websites and social networks. In particular, Tan Tru district has built a tourist tour connecting the drum-making craft village with locations such as the Vam Nhut Tao historical site and the royal areca road (also known as the Happiness Road), contributing to attracting tourists to the locality". Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Binh Lang commune, Tan Tru district - Nguyen Tan Thanh From 2023, I took advantage of the existing apricot garden to develop rural tourism with a tourism service model called Ba Thuy Tram Dieu May. I hope to combine the preservation of the traditional apricot growing village with the exploitation of rural tourism values, creating opportunities for visitors to experience the ecological landscape, learn about the culture and life of the people here. Every day, the place welcomes 20-30 visitors, including groups from Soc Trang province and Can Tho city, helping the village become more widely known." Mr. Huynh Van Thuy (Tan Tay commune, Thanh Hoa district)

By Staffs - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/lang-nghe-don-tet-a189248.html