There are values that truly live only when they are touched, heard, and felt with one’s hands and heart. For Hòa Hiệp Fish Sauce, the most precious thing is not just every drop of savory fish sauce, but also the curious, eager eyes of the young generation as they seek out the ancient craft.
The Fish Sauce Drop and Young Hands
One morning in Mang Thít, Vĩnh Long, the Hòa Hiệp fish sauce production facility welcomed special guests – students from various universities in Saigon and the UEH University Vĩnh Long campus.
Laughter blended with the savory aroma of fish sauce, creating a space that felt both familiar and new. The students were able to witness the entire process firsthand: fermentation, labeling, and barreling. They listened as the artisans shared stories about their daily work.
Amidst the smell of sea salt and the fragrant anchovy scent, enthusiasm was clearly visible in the eyes of every student. Some stood silently observing, some meticulously took notes, and others peppered the workers with detailed questions. Everything seemed simple, yet it made one realize that behind a bottle of fish sauce lies a lifetime of dedication and an enduring faith in the craft.
The Old Craft in a New Rhythm
Hòa Hiệp maintains its traditional method of fish sauce making: selecting fresh anchovies from Phú Quốc, clean salt from Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, and natural fermentation in Vĩnh Long.
No machines, no flavor enhancers, only time and patience. Every drop of fish sauce is the crystallization of the sea and human spirit—something that cannot be written in a textbook, only felt and touched while standing in the workshop, inhaling the aroma of fish sauce permeating the air.
By witnessing this firsthand, the students gained a deeper understanding that traditional craft is not outdated. It simply needs to be retold in a new way, through the perspective of the youth. And this very curiosity today will be the bridge that helps the old craft step forward into the future.
When the Young Seek to Understand the Past
It’s not only the fish sauce craft; today’s youth are trending toward learning about and preserving traditional cultural values as a way of returning to their roots.
From ceramic villages and looms to small fish sauce workshops, they come to learn, to feel, and to listen to the stories of hands that have practiced the craft for a lifetime.
During visits like the one at Hòa Hiệp, the intergenerational exchange is not just a brief meeting but a moment of passing the torch. The predecessors recount their stories with conviction, and the younger generation listens with reverence. And so, the old craft continues to live on—through the eyes of the youth, through a love that is understood and shared.
Connecting Past and Present
Hòa Hiệp believes that preserving the traditional craft is not solely the responsibility of the fish sauce makers; it is a shared journey for everyone who loves Vietnamese culture.
The days we host students are not just opportunities to introduce our product, but also a way to spread the spirit of the craft—a craft intrinsically linked to the sea, to rice, and to the Vietnamese meal.
Because only when the new generation touches the old craft will those ancient values truly be brought back to life—savory, enduring, and full of vitality.
