 |
|
Girdle cakes are dried off in Nhon Hung. Photo N.H |
When the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival is coming, girdle cake villages in the central province of Binh Dinh have been working at full capacity to meet the orders. Their business often flourishes at the end of a year.
Nhon Hung girdle cake village
The whole village is now busy making girdle cakes. At 4 am, most local people awake to prepare for a hard-working day.
“I have to get up early to make as many girdle cakes as possible,” said Tran Thi Bon, a local person. “When the Tet holiday is coming, I have to work at dusk to meet the demand. The village must work at full capacity on these days.”
Tam Huong, another girdle cake maker, said two storms badly affected girdle cake villages; therefore, they had to try to make as many as possible to meet the orders in time when it is sunny.
Statistics showed that nearly 300 households join the making of girdle cake in Nhon Hung commune. The monthly income is of VND1.5 million and the last month of the lunar year often sees double. Nhon Hung girdle cakes are often sold to not only domestic consumers but overseas Vietnamese who buy girdle cakes as presents.
Tay Phu girdle cake village
Similarly, Tay Son district’s Tay Phu commune is also in the rush on these days. Girdle cakes are being drying off everywhere in the village. Many merchants hurriedly come to village to buy girdle cakes.
There are about 400 households making girdle cakes in Tay Phu today. At the end of the lunar month, they have to work at full capacity to meet the market demand. About 10000 girdle cakes of all kinds are made each day. Some drying rooms were already built in case of bad weather.
Tay Phu girdle cakes are now present in many provinces in Central Highlands and Southern region. “Our girdle cakes are made from special kind of rice without wheat flour, so they are very much in demand,” said Tran Van Binh, a local person in Phu My hamlet.
In recent years, many households in Tay Phu have upgraded their facilities to improve the process of making girdle cakes. Girdle cakes of all kinds are made basing on the consumers’ taste, making the “trade name” of the village become well known.
The Tet festival 2010 is coming and this is the busiest time of year for girdle cake villages in Binh Dinh. They are expecting high-yielding crops.
| 
