Vinh Long is known as the famous and most significant brick production place in the Mekong Delta for a while, so Westerners often call this place the “red kingdom”. Because along the rivers and canals in Vinh Long province, thousands of kilns produce bricks with baked clay. After the ups and downs, brick-and-tile production in Vinh Long has recently calmed down a bit. Due to the lack of fire and cold for a long time, the grass is overgrown…
Before the risk of brick kilns being demolished to change jobs, Vinh Long province’s functional departments built the project “Mang Thit Contemporary Heritage”. This is a valuable open-air treasure that needs to be preserved because its history was built over more than 100 years to create a unique architectural heritage and traditional craft – Vinh Long brick and tile village.
1. Unique Vinh Long brick and tile village
The area of the baked brick craft village stretches for more than 30 km from Vinh Long City to the territory of Long Ho and Mang Thit districts. Which, Nhon Phu and My Phuoc communes of Mang Thit district are the places where most brick production facilities are concentrated. From the rudimentary soil through the talented hands of the craftsman, they become useful products for the people.
According to the elders here, in the past, when the traditional craft of brick making was still prosperous, each house owned several kilns. The brick kilns are located close together, looking from afar like a “kingdom” with hundreds of small castles. At its peak, Vinh Long province had nearly 2,000 kilns of baked ceramic bricks.
Before, when transportation was not developed, bricks were transported throughout the South by river. Many kiln owners confided that about ten years ago, every furnace was on fire, ships carrying goods and materials to and from were parked on Mang Thit, Co Chien, and Thay Cai canals.
Mr. Bui Van Bay (My Phuoc commune, Mang Thit district) with more than 30 years of working in brick kilns is sad: “In the past, the land was abundant and fertile, making bricks was prosperous, selling well. No matter how much you produce, it’s not enough to sell. Sold in many provinces in this western region. But because the production of traditional kilns pollutes the environment and the government encourages the use of unburnt bricks, many kilns have temporarily stopped working or demolished kilns to switch to other jobs. Personally, I stick with and love my job, so I have kept it to this day with the desire that my children preserve the profession left by their fathers.”
Mr. Duong Chi Hien (Nhon Phu commune, Mang Thit district), said: The brick in Vinh Long is known and favored by many people because the raw material is a rare local source of red clay. Since then, the quality of the bricks produced is also firmer and more durable over time. A brick kiln is usually about 12m high. It takes five days to load and unload bricks, 15 days to bake and seven days to wait for the bricks to cool. Bricks are fired with rice husks with a very careful inspection and fire watch process, to ensure that the bricks are “ripe” just right. After about a month and a half of firing, the finished product is about 120 thousand standard vermilion bricks.
Comrade Ho Phuoc Du, Secretary of the Party Committee of My Phuoc Commune (Mang Thit District, Vinh Long Province), shared: “In recent years, due to the difficult situation of competition for raw materials, fuel, and prices, many The facility is only operating intermittently. Previously, in My Phuoc commune, there were more than 100 establishments with nearly 400 kilns, now there are only about 20 establishments, operating in moderation.
2. Devoted to preserving the craft village
In order to preserve the profession attached to the family for generations, as well as meet the market requirements, Mr. Duong Chi Hien, Nhon Phu commune, Mang Thit district boldly applied new technology and advanced scientific techniques. of the mechanical industry in the production of baked bricks in order to reduce labor and emissions into the environment and also reduce production costs somewhat.
Currently, Mr. Tan’s family has 86 furnaces in an area of more than 2 hectares. The success of applying high technology for brick production, not only environmentally friendly emissions but also significantly reduced input costs. Since then, improving competitiveness, and created regular jobs for about 60 employees with stable incomes.
Mr. Duong Chi Hien confided: “I made a traditional brick kiln from 1983 to 2017, then I found it difficult to go to many places to learn about boldly switching to this new technology. I’m really worried because I have to give up all the traditional craft kilns, I have to redo the furnace to spend money, then the technique and the ground. In the past, it was only necessary to enter the drug into the mortar to run out the bricks, now the land is increasingly rare, and I have to import more colored gritty, and gritty soils. At the same time, you have to make the mortar press the gravel to thin, through the mortar to run out the brick. So say the brick now, its plasticity is firmer, more rigid. Another reform is that in the past, when I pulled a car, now I reformed it into an electric car. Second, in the past, the handheld lever, now it is mechanical. Then the husk is also sucked up by the system to the end. The old 10-hour workforce was reduced to 6 or 7 people. The good thing is that this technology helps to take advantage of the heat source to dry the new bricks into the kiln, then I just need to heat it to ripen. The time to produce the product is shortened by 1/3 to ¼ of the traditional manual oven, the product is also more. The price from the input is light, so the new output is cheap, customers prefer it.”
3. Preserve the contemporary heritage
Walking along the Co Chien River or weaving into the Thay Cai and Ba Nu canals of the Mang Thit district, in the distance, you can still see many brick kilns lying in the sun and wind. But moss has grown, and dust has clung, covering the “baked brick kingdom” with a color of time tinged with cold.
Facing this situation, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vinh Long province aims to develop the project “Contemporary Heritage Mang Thit” to preserve the unique cultural values left by previous generations. at the same time, helping people in the region transform their livelihoods, improve their lives, contribute to the development of the tourism industry, and create momentum for local socio-economic development.
Comrade Nguyen Chi Quyet, Vice Chairman of Mang Thit District People’s Committee (Vinh Long province), pondered: “Currently, in the district, there are 425 brick-packing establishments with 663 kilns, but in reality there are only 111 production establishments with 115 furnaces are still in operation, most of the people have also stopped. The locality is very concerned because there are families who have been attached to this industry for 3-4 generations. With the project to develop this place to become “Mang Thit Contemporary Heritage”, the district is also coordinating with departments, agencies and sectors to come up with specific and suitable support policies for people.
With the advantage of a typical ceramic brick kiln system, Vinh Long province has been coordinating to implement the “Mang Thit Contemporary Heritage Project” to develop tourism. The project is built on the idea of exploiting existing traditional brick kilns as a foundation, a breakthrough highlight on a large scale, contributing to the preservation of the community’s traditional cultural values. It is the “reviving” of old mossy brick kilns for tourism that will create the development of the kingdom of Mang Thit ceramic tiles for a flourishing time.
Thay Cai canal (My Phuoc commune and Nhon Phu commune (Mang Thit district) is one of the highlights, with the largest concentration of brick kilns built over 100 years old. Visitors can’t help but marvel at the images of hundreds of brick kilns that have been covered with color over time lying flat, and the stories about the pottery-brick village were heard for the first time…
Ms. Ta Thi Tu Quyen (tourist from Ho Chi Minh City), excited: “A very long-standing traditional craft village of Vinh Long, today had the opportunity to visit, experience, have a very special feeling, besides , you can also check in very beautiful photos, learn about traditional craft villages and we hope that the craft village will continue to be preserved and promoted.”
According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vinh Long province, Mang Thit – an under-appreciated treasure with nearly 1,500 brick kilns spread over an area of nearly 3,000 hectares in Mang Thit district, along the canals (Tha Cai, Hoa My) forms an arc of the southern bank that closes to Nhon Phu and Hoa Tinh canals. This is a valuable open-air treasure that needs to be preserved because its history was built over more than 100 years from the unique cultural-industrial interference between the Khmer, Kinh and Chinese people to forge. unique architectural heritage and traditional craft. Along with that, due to negative impacts on the environment as well as many challenges in the current market, brick kilns will be converted into functions through creative forms of natural landscapes and promoting other advantages (cultural tourism, culinary, waterway transportation through the canal system… This is a strategy that can turn a property worth 500 billion VND to bring an estimated 1,500 billion VND/year for the country. tourism industry in Mang Thit district.
Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vinh Long province Phan Van Giau, said: “The project will be planned based on the model of “in-situ resettlement” to ensure rights as well as sustainable livelihoods. for each citizen. To do this, the representative of the department affirmed, it is necessary to have the cooperation of the people and investors to complete the project, thereby building a new economic life for local people. We will coordinate with industries to commit to accompanying people to start a business with the draft, develop a satisfactory support package for households who agree to preserve and preserve the brick kiln, and work with the province to build and develop the project. “Contemporary Heritage Mang Thit”.
