Exploiting tourism from "coconut" cultural values

14/03/2024 1076 0
Mo Cay Nam district is known as the "Cradle" of Dong Khoi, 20km by road from Ben Tre city. The district is the center of the Cu Lao Minh tourist cluster, adjacent to Thanh Phu, Mo Cay Bac, and Cho Lach districts. These four localities have cooperated to develop Cu Lao Minh tourism with the theme "Tourism from river to sea", bringing local products to serve tourism activities, especially coconut products that are popular with tourists. Love the products that bring exciting experiences with the cool green coconut groves, and the generous and hospitable hearts of the people in the Xu Dua river region make visitors excited to learn about them.

Thom River Coconut Floating Market - unique

In addition to the road, traveling to Mo Cay Nam district can also take a train from Ben Tre city, to Ham Luong river through Vam Nuoc Trong to Thom river. This place is famous for the unique Thom River Coconut Floating Market in the Mekong Delta, located in An Thanh commune, Mo Cay Nam district and part of Khanh Thanh Tan commune, Mo Cay Bac district. Coming here, visitors will witness with their own eyes the bustling scene of boats and boats coming to trade and buy. On both sides of the river are images of people chatting and working at processing facilities and producing coconut products: coconut fiber, coconut handicrafts, coconut oil, soil from coco peat, ... goods. Goods are packed on busy trains. Although it is a simple, everyday image, it is a characteristic attraction of the Thom River coconut floating market.

Boat carrying coconut fiber on the Thom River (Photo: XTDL)

The coconut floating market on Thom River is a unique tourism product that does not overlap with other localities. In addition to helping the region's economic development, it also promotes tourism. Grasping the potential of the Coconut Floating Market on the Thom River, in recent times, many tourism businesses in Ben Tre have included this location in tours and ecological routes to serve visitors and explore. Combine research with other local tourism products. Tour programs here are carried out for 01 to 02 days and combined with neighboring localities such as Cho Lach, Ben Tre city or moving to Tra Vinh province.

Beauty from coconut fiber craft village

Along both banks of the Thom River are manual production facilities that produce many quality products such as coconut oil, coconut shell charcoal, carpets, bags, coconut fiber... to serve daily life or export abroad. outside. Activities of exchanging goods and working from early morning until late evening with familiar activities such as peeling, grating coconut meat, separating and drying coconut fiber...

Visitors will learn from local people about how to make coconut fiber. After being purchased, the coconut will be peeled, put into a machine to get the thread, then the thread will be dried in the sun. The dried thread is distributed to purchasing agents and spun into thread. From coconut fiber, people produce many different types of products such as mattress thread, hard fiber thread, woven carpets, carpet mats, floor mats, etc. and the pimples are used to make clean soil for growing plants. These products are regularly exported to Korea, Malaysia, China, India,...

Although people's work is very hard, they always have a smile on their faces, a spirit of optimism, friendliness, and hospitality because this product not only helps people have a source of income but also contributes to promoting their image. Coconut land comes to domestic and foreign tourists. It can be said that coconut trees and coconut products have been in the lives of people in Mo Cay Nam district for many generations and are deeply embedded in life without any substitute.

Promote the development of tourism potential

On the recent Lunar New Year of Giap Thin, Coco Farm (one of the destinations of Mo Cay Nam district) attracted tourists with specific tourism products imbued with local culture such as: cycling on village roads, sightseeing. Visit a coconut making facility, discover and learn about the custom of erecting a New Year tree at the Tran family worship house,... bringing authentically described traditional customs to tourists.

Foreign tourists visit the medium peeling facility (Photo: Coco farm)

Setting up a Neu tree on the 24th of the Lunar New Year at the Palace to worship the Tran family (Photo: TP)

Homestay tourism is a product rich in authenticity and uniqueness, close to the community, and at the same time, this is also a product that international visitors are interested in and learn about local culture. Typically, Coconut Homestay and Coco Farm are exploiting the strengths of coconut trees in developing a type of tourism close to nature, using household items made from coconuts, and discovering new experiences in new lands. Pristine nature is a new trend, oriented in the development of green and sustainable eco-tourism in the future.

Rich coconut cuisine

Coming to Mo Cay Nam, the most interesting thing is seeing the coconuts from the trees being picked and processed into many attractive dishes. The simplicity and rich flavor are attractions that Ben Tre people keep and pass down from generation to generation, and are brought to serve tourists. It can be said that Ben Tre coconut is more special than other regions in terms of quantity, type, and richer fat than other regions. Dishes that can be mentioned include: check soup, roasted shrimp with coconut milk, sweet soup cake with coconut milk, apricot leaf cake with coconut milk,... Especially, on June 27, 2022, the People's Committee of Ben Tre province organized the event of processing and performing 222 coconut dishes, simultaneously breaking a Vietnamese record and setting a world record; This is an activity in a series of events commemorating the 200th birthday of famous man Nguyen Dinh Chieu (1822 - 2022). Coconut dishes demonstrate the culinary value of the locality with its characteristic sweet and fatty flavor and strong coconut aroma that is hard to find anywhere else.

Roasted shrimp with coconut milk (Photo: BT)

Currently, the National Highway 60 route has been upgraded to be spacious and convenient for routes from Ben Tre to inter-province with Tra Vinh province or intra-provincial routes of Ben Tre city to Cho Lach and Thanh Phu districts. The road to the Dong Khoi Special National Monument was invested, upgraded markets, and purchased vehicles such as boats, boats, and cars to serve tourists. Tourism businesses and restaurants are invested in infrastructure and equipment, and service quality is constantly improved.

To effectively exploit the Coconut Floating Market - Thom River tourist route, it will become a tourist highlight of Mo Cay Nam district in particular and the province in general. Therefore, the district regularly organizes dissemination and extensive propaganda of the content of building tourist routes to industries, localities, organizations, businesses, and communities participating directly or indirectly in the activities. Tourism activities to exploit, develop and manage based on indigenous resources associated with the benefits of the community in the town and communes: Dinh Thuy, An Thanh, Tan Hoi, Da Phuoc Hoi, Thanh Thoi B.

With the existing potential, in the coming time, the district plans to continue promoting investment in traditional and cultural values ​​mainly from coconut trees. Use natural resources to develop reasonable and specific community tourism, satisfy people's increasing tourism needs, and exploit them in a positive way to call for investment cooperation. Improve tourism capacity and skills of the community, create local jobs. Call for and attract investment in sustainable tourism exploitation projects, amusement parks, shopping, entertainment, etc. to extend the length of stay and overcome seasonality in tourism to become the center of tourism. tourist destination of Minh Island cluster.

With the existing regional cultural values ​​of Mo Cay Nam district and the determination of leaders at all levels from district to province, it is hoped that in the coming time, the district will have stronger changes in accordance with the orientations. local culture, attracting more and more domestic and foreign tourists./.

Bao Tram

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