Rice papers are dried (Photo: VNA) Rice paper workshops in Long Dien district Dien start working early in themorning and keep going all day.
The rice papers of the villages in Long Dien district are famous for beingdelicious and chewy, and said to taste better than all others.
The production involves making powder, rolling and drying.
Modern drying technologies are widely used in many craft villages, but Long Dienvillage still retains the traditional way of drying it under the sun in naturalwind.
In this village, artisans make them without preservatives or additives toensure safety and hygiene, and frown on modern technologies, preferring to dryit naturally, which they say is the secret to making it more crispy andfragrant.
Tran Nam, 65, says: “The drying process depends on the weather. On a sunny dayit only takes a few hours; on a less sunny day it may take all day. If theweather is sunny and windy, my family can make a batch of more than 4,000 ricepapers every two days.
Rice paper is bought all year round, but demand zooms during Tet. The COVID-19pandemic affected many businesses, but not rice paper makers since it is anessential food item.
Luong Thi Hong Trang, 65, says making rice paper is a traditional craft in LongDien village, handed down from generation to generation.
The village’s rice papers are unique thanks to water from the local wells thatmost households in the village use to instil a special flavour.
But the wells are no longer enough to serve all households, and some use tap water.
Flower farmers in Ba Ria city are in the frenetic final stages before they taketheir products to the market.
Though demand was significantly lower during the COVID years, the farmersremain optimistic since sales have been gradually recovering, portending a moreprosperous year.
According to a local farmer, Nguyen Trung Truong, ornamental flowers haveblossomed well thanks to good weather and so sales have been good.
With the increasing prices of fertilisers and plants scaring away some farmers,output has decreased this year, driving prices up, he says.
“The most popular are reasonably priced plants like daisies and roses whileexpensive varieties such as orchids, red apricots and azaleas have lowerdemand. Mini bonsai trees are selling in large numbers.”/.
VNA
