DUC PHO TOWN: The traditional salt making trade in Sa Huynh of the central Quang Ngai Province’s Duc Pho Town, has been recognised as a National Intangible Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, promoting the conservation of the craft and natural landscape in the coastal zone.
Covering 110 hectares on the most beautiful coastal area in central Vietnam, the Sa Huynh salt fields – 60km south most of Quang Ngai Province, have been a food source for fishing villages and daily use among communities in central Vietnam for centuries.
The product from the scenic salt fields were also exported to Europe during the French Colonial period from the 19th century.
Sa Huynh salt fields are still a major trade for the 1,200 farmers in Pho Thanh commune – the central area supplying from 650 to 700 tonnes of salt to the market each year.
Various organic high-value salt products including ‘flower of salt’ (with a surface crystalised salt layer), or fleur de sel in French, a premium quality salt, along with bamboo tube cooked salt, are OCOP (One-Commune One-Product) products making a sustainable tourism brand for the community-based Sahu co-operative.
Last year, the central province of Quang Ngai approved a project on conservation of Sa Huynh salt fields and community-based development in Pho Thanh ward, with funding from UNDP/GEF small grants programme in 2024-25.
The project aims to support community with technical assistance in promoting the conservation of salt cultivation and community-based tourism service related to Sa Huynh culture.
In 2023, Sa Huynh archaeological relics, believed to date back about three thousand years, were recognised as a National Special Heritage.
Local salt eco-tours have emerged to support community-based tourism in promoting the unique heritage of An Khe Lagoon, which is believed to have formed during the Flandrian interglacial period (from 6,000 to 7,000 years ago).
The Sa Huynh relic site was included in the Ly Son-Sa Huynh Global Geo-Park dossier developed by scientists, conservationists and archaeologists, earning the Unesco global geopark recognition. - Vietnam News/ANN
