Salt Village & the Reality of Local Life in Nam Dinh

Exploring salt village in Nam Dinh and the harsh lives of workers are two of the must-to-do lists during your Vietnam vacation. Witness the process of salt making and experience this interesting work like local people here, promising the most memorable moment in Vietnam.

The Real Situation of Salt Village

Hai Ly Commune carries a long history of salt making with 1,000ha of salt fields and approximately 700 farmers by 2000. However, salt field area has a fall to 20ha due to the fact that farmers have got quit of a tough and low-paid job. Nowadays, only 200 farmers who are not strong enough to fish offshore work on salt fields.

The Process of Salt-Making in the Village

To create the spotlessly white salt grains, it costs the workers lots of time, effort, and sweat.

First and foremost, farmers have to dig the ditches leading sea water to the salt fields and then pour seawater on the fields in the early morning. The sand is immersed in seawater, then dried in a clay yard. As the sand dries, it will create a small amount of salt. Then workers make use of seawater to rinse that sand to get a saltier solution. They have to rinse dried salt 3 times in seawater to make the salt saltier under the scorching sun. The whole salt producing process must take place constantly to avoid the failure of salt level. After nearly 10 hours, the seawater evaporates to abandon pure salt on the cement yard. It is a peak time for salt makers to harvest the salt and transfer it to the warehouse.

The Harsh Lives of Salt Makers

As you know, it is necessary to get enough bright sunlight so that they can create pure salt grains. Therefore, these farmers have to work hard under the blazing sunshine for 10 hours, which makes this job so tough and strenuous. In contrast, the salt price often fluctuates and remains low, leading to difficult lives.

Salt Village and Salt makers really need the help from the community, especially responsible travels. Together with Ecohost Ecotourism to preserve the long-established tradition in Vietnam.