As a person who loves to make unique products not available in the market, Huynh Van Long from Nha Trang City has created coats and gloves from titanium. 

Titanium is a metal with high durability, high heat resistance, corrosion resistance and low solubility in acid. 

Long has completed two coats and a pair of gloves. The gloves were sold at VND4.2 million, the long-sleeved coat at VND25 million and short-sleeved at VND15 million.

He said the products are expensive because they are made of titanium. He needs six months to create one coat but he doesn’t intend to make another product.

Paper made of elephant dung at Thao Cam Vien

Elephants at Saigon Zoo & Botanical Gardens in (Thao Cam Vien) HCM City only eat sugarcane, carrots and grass. The proportion of fiber found in elephant dung is enough to make paper.

In February 2022, Thao Cam Vien joined forces with members of the HCM City University of Industry to pilot the production of paper from elephant dung. In April, the product saw success and the paper quality has been improved since then.

This is special paper which doesn’t use chemicals for bleaching, so it has a light brown color. On average, for every one kilogram of elephant dung, 400 grams of dry powder are obtained, creating about 30 A4 papers. 

Odd job of Ca Mau’s man

Trinh Quang Nha, 21, from Ca Mau City of Ca Mau province, has an original job – making jewelry from snake bones. In addition to specimens with full snake bones, he also makes bracelets and rings from snake bone. It takes him 2-3 days to make a ring, and sometimes he spends one week to make it.

The specimens are sold to cafes, shops and decoration establishments for VND5-15 million, while jewelry made of snake bones are sold for VND300,000-1.5 million.

He said the products made from snake bones have a strange appeal, and he wants to preserve the unique beauty of snakes.

Teacher creates original pictures from pebbles 

From rough pebbles, Duong Duc Hoa, 38, from Kon Chieng Secondary School in Gia Lai can create vivid and delicate rock paintings.

Hoa said 10 years ago, when he went to the stream in his hometown with friends, he saw beautiful pebbles. He brought the pebbles home and drew animals on them. All of his friends said they were beautiful and original.

Following the success, he tried to draw on pebbles with a larger surface. 

Each of his products sells for VND800,000-1.4 million, depending on the size and difficulty of the drawing.

Big fish caught on Cham Isle

Leaders of Tan Hiep commune in Hoi An City in Quang Nam province confirmed that Pham Van Trong, 49, a fisherman in the commune, caught a big skate, 80 kilogram in weight and 2 meters in length, and sold it for VND20,000 per kilogram. 

Local people said this was the biggest skate caught in the waters of Cham Isle they had have ever seen.

Original specialty food in Hue

The period from April to August is the time for people to come to Chuon Village in Hue City to enjoy banh khoai ca kinh, a kind of rice cake served with ca kinh (Siganus canaliculatus).

Local people said Chuon Lagoon has five famous fishes and all of them are delicious, but the favorite one is ca kinh, which is used to make banh khoai.

To enjoy banh khoai ca kinh, one needs to buy fish, bring it to traditional markets and ask people to make the rice cake.

Origin stories at the cattle market

Nhe Market in Khanh Vinh Yen commune, Can Loc district, is the largest buffalo and cow market in Ha Tinh province. The special feature of the market is that it only convenes on even days, the 2nd, 12th, 22nd, and odd days on the 7, 17th and 27th lunar months. Market days begin in early morning and finish at 10 am.

The purchase and sales are simple but special. Buyers and sellers use slang words when negotiating prices in order to keep the information secret.

Many people come to Nhe Market not only to buy or sell cattle but also to learn about market prices and share experiences about raising cattle. Others just visit the market for fun.

Hanh Nguyen