Quoc Tuan Commune, Nam Sach District, Hai Duong Province has 3 incense making villages: Dong Thon, An Xa, Truc Tri, which have been famous for 100 years. Although incense making has a year-round season, in the last month of the year, the working atmosphere in the village is very urgent and bustling. Each household strives to complete the last orders of the old year, preparing for Tet.
According to Lao Dong's report on December 28, incense production facilities in Quoc Tuan commune are busy preparing the final stages of making incense such as drying and packaging in order to complete large orders from many provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh...
For households with three generations of traditional incense making, such as Mr. Nguyen Huu Khang's family (Truc Tri village, Quoc Tuan commune), preparations for Tet have begun since September, because the number of customers placing orders will increase 3-4 times compared to normal days.
According to Mr. Khang, the incense production process includes basic steps such as drying, grinding herbs, mixing flavors, shooting toothpicks, drying or drying, and then packaging. However, the flavor mixing stage is the decisive factor that creates the uniqueness of each production household.
“Every year, my family sells more than 1,000 boxes of incense, and during Tet alone, it accounts for two-thirds of the total output. These days, we can’t make enough to sell because as soon as we make it, traders come and take it all,” said Mr. Khang.
Ms. Mai Thi Huyen (An Xa village, Quoc Tuan commune) shared that incense in Quoc Tuan commune's craft villages is mainly made from natural medicinal herbs, without chemicals, so consumers can rest assured when using it. The incense has a gentle fragrance, does not go out halfway when lit, the ash rolls beautifully and does not crumble.
“In the past, making incense by hand was very hard work, slow production and took a lot of effort. In recent years, the introduction of technology and machinery has significantly increased incense production. Near Tet, my family sells 100-200 boxes each month, each box contains more than 18,000 sticks. In addition to hired workers, we also have to mobilize relatives to support us in order to make enough incense to sell to customers,” said Ms. Huyen.
Speaking with Lao Dong reporter on December 28, Mr. Le Kha Them - Chairman of Quoc Tuan Commune People's Committee - said that currently, Quoc Tuan commune has about 200 households making incense with more than 1,000 workers, many of whom are past working age with an average income of 5 - 6 million VND/person/month, many owners of production facilities in the craft village have high incomes of hundreds of millions of VND/household/year.
According to Mr. Them, Quoc Tuan commune currently has 4 incense products recognized as OCOP products (3 4-star OCOP products, 1 3-star OCOP product), typically clean ash incense products, low-smoke incense... meeting the tastes and needs of consumers.
