Hard work

Along the calm Cai Con River, among the peaceful houses along the riverbank are thatched roofs covered in a shiny black color, with smoke billowing out. The deeper you go into the village, the more pungent, spicy smell of smoke and firewood becomes. These are the characteristics of the charcoal making village in Tan Thanh commune, Nga Bay city.

Having been involved in the coal mining profession of this land since he was 15 or 16 years old, Mr. Le Hoang Dung still remembers seeing giant circular kilns built in his yard, billowing smoke day and night. Growing up, he practiced and then inherited the profession left by his grandparents. Now, more than half a century has passed.

Although he owns three charcoal kilns, whenever he has free time, Mr. Dung works for other kiln owners in the neighborhood. When we arrived, he and his three children were busy carrying wood into the kiln, preparing for a new batch of coal. This is the kiln of Mr. Dinh Van Biet, 85 years old, living in Tan Thanh commune.

"I received firewood from Uncle Muoi Biet for 3.5 million VND. Working with me were my two sons, daughter-in-law and some other people. After finishing, this salary was divided equally among everyone," Mr. Dung confided.

At Mr. Muoi Biet’s charcoal kiln, more than a dozen people with clothes covered in dirt and coal dust, each in charge of a stage. On the wet ground, two people are constantly moving mangrove trees to the cutting table. The raw materials are cut into short pieces suitable for the area and capacity of the kiln.

The cut firewood will be loaded into a wheelbarrow (a three-wheeled vehicle used to transport goods) by two other people and pushed into the furnace. The raw firewood will be stacked vertically or horizontally by another group of workers so that it is tight and even.

"If it is loose, it will affect the monitoring process, the coal will not cook evenly, and will easily crumble and break," said Mr. Dung.

Sweat soaked their backs, coal dust covered their faces, but the workers still worked quickly.

Extreme becomes familiar

Pointing to the furnace door, Mr. Dung shared that the charcoal furnace is designed with four chimneys and a door to light the fire. After the furnace is filled with firewood, the large door will be sealed and the fire will start to burn for about a month.

During this time, the fire must be continuously lit and adjusted appropriately to create heat in the furnace so that the wood gradually turns into charcoal. After determining that the charcoal is ripe, the place where the fire is lit and the four chimneys of the furnace will be sealed to prevent air from entering, causing the charcoal to catch fire and burn completely. After about 15-20 days of sealing the furnace, the temperature will decrease and the furnace will begin to be opened. Such a charcoal furnace will produce more than 20 tons of charcoal.

According to Mr. Dung, the price of mangrove charcoal is currently fluctuating at 8-10 thousand VND/kg. If all goes well, after about 45 days, a charcoal kiln will produce about 20 tons. After deducting expenses, the profit is about 25-30 million VND.

Carrying heavy loads of firewood into the kiln, Mr. Doan Van Bon (49 years old) - a worker in Mr. Dung's team shared that in this hamlet, those who have the economic means build kilns, and those who don't have the means work for the kiln owners.

"I started working for hire when I was 15 or 16 years old. Every day, I was paid 300,000-400,000 VND, a stable income, enough to cover family expenses. This job is very hard, but after doing it for a long time, I got used to it," Mr. Bon confided.

Origin of the craft village

Despite his advanced age, Mr. Muoi Biet is still very clear-headed and healthy. He said that after 1975, he was discharged from the army and returned to his hometown. At that time, Tan Thanh commune was still part of Xuan Hoa commune, Cu Lao Dung district, Soc Trang province. There was little arable land and little income from the fields and gardens, so the family's life was very difficult.

At that time, two of his wife’s relatives had successfully brought the coal mining industry from Ca Mau to this place. So he began to learn. After mastering all the secrets of coal mining, Mr. Muoi Biet began to build the furnace.

"At first, I only made a furnace of about 10C (equivalent to 10m3), after a week of burning the tunnel, I was able to produce about 400-500kg of coal. Seeing that the profit from the coal furnace improved my family's life, I have followed this profession until now," Mr. Muoi Biet recalled.

After nearly 50 years in the profession, from a small kiln, Mr. Muoi Biet has invested in building 9 kilns. On average, each kiln will produce over 20 tons of charcoal. The main raw material used to burn charcoal is mangrove, the highest quality of all types of charcoal.

Products from Tan Thanh craft village are not only sold in the Western provinces and Ho Chi Minh City but also exported to other countries. Seeing that the coal mining profession brings income, many people in the village began to follow suit.

So the charcoal kilns along the Cai Con River sprung up like mushrooms, gradually developing into craft villages. Also from these kilns, many households made a good living, from one charcoal kiln now developing into 5 - 9 kilns.

Not only does it provide a stable income for the kiln owners, the coal industry also creates stable jobs for thousands of families in Tan Thanh commune. Thanks to that, they have been able to raise their children to a good education.