OCOP products: A bridge between rural areas and tourism

Tay Ninh is one of the localities possessing many typical products closely associated with the culture, history and life of the indigenous people. In which, OCOP is not only a product, but also a vibrant cultural space, an opportunity for people to promote their creativity and enrich themselves from their own advantages.

Ms. Pham Thi Mai - Principal of Duong Minh Chau Town Primary School and students experience the incense making profession in Hoa Thanh Town. Photo: Ngan Tam

If in the past, tourists coming to Tay Ninh only visited famous tourist attractions such as Cao Dai Holy See, Ba Den Mountain, Central Office of Southern Region... and returned within the day, now, when local products created by farmers are recognized as OCOP, The trend of combining sightseeing with experiencing craft villages, making rice paper, processing shrimp salt, picking custard apples or making incense is becoming an attractive tourism product for many tourists in and outside the province.

Tay Ninh currently has 139 OCOP products with 3 stars or more, including 97 3-star products, 41 4-star products and 1 5-star product. These products are not only highly appreciated for their quality but also carry the cultural identity of Tay Ninh people.

Hand-rolled and dried OCOP incense

Recently, students of Duong Minh Chau Town Primary School had a field trip to learn about the culture, architecture, craft villages and cuisine of Tay Ninh. Although the program took place in one day, the children were very excited to see and explore the unique architecture of the Cao Dai Holy See with a history of more than 100 years, the ancient temple of Go Ken - Thien Lam, and experience the incense making process at the Van Linh Huong incense production facility.

Hoa Thanh town, one of the localities with many traditional product manufacturing facilities of Tay Ninh. Photo: Tam Giang

Ms. Pham Thi Mai - Principal of Duong Minh Chau Town Primary School shared, as an education manager, I chose Van Linh Huong incense workshop for students to experience and learn because this place is both a place to preserve and promote traditions, and a place to create jobs and income for local workers.

“It must be said that the spirit of following in the footsteps of our ancestors to preserve and promote traditional crafts is truly admirable. In addition to this place, we continue to choose the craft villages of making shrimp salt and rice paper in Tay Ninh to help students experience and learn, because each craft village in Tay Ninh is a traditional cultural feature of this land,” Ms. Pham Thi Mai expressed.

She added that through the experiential activities, she hopes that students will gain more knowledge and understanding of the traditional incense making profession; understand and be proud of the traditional craft of "Incense Making" in Tay Ninh province, which has been included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Children make incense by hand at Van Linh Huong incense production facility.

From there, they will practice their ability to observe, grasp information, explore and learn many new things to be bolder and more confident in upcoming activities. Even more proud, Tay Ninh has 9 intangible cultural heritages, including the traditional craft of making shrimp chili salt and Trang Bang rice paper, which have been included in the list of national intangible cultural heritages by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Students of Duong Minh Chau Town Primary School visit and experience Van Linh Huong incense production facility (Hoa Thanh town). Photo: Ngan Tam

In their studies, students not only need to equip themselves with knowledge through books, but also practical experience will contribute to enriching and deepening their awareness of the historical, cultural and traditional values ​​of the nation. Educating students through practical journeys is an effective method to help them learn, explore and absorb the quintessence left by their ancestors. Each trip is a journey into the hearts of the young generation, opening new doors for them to more deeply imbue them with love, national pride, respect and gratitude for the traditional cultural values ​​that have shaped the quintessence and qualities of the Vietnamese people.

“Experiential learning is an educational method in which students participate in practical activities and directly experience to discover knowledge instead of just receiving one-way knowledge from teachers like traditional education. We believe that this is an important step in comprehensive development. Students not only receive knowledge in school but also have practical experiences, only then will they understand and appreciate more the values ​​of products created by humans” - Ms. Pham Thi Mai shared more.

Crystallizing indigenous culture, opening up the flow of green tourism

While Ba Den custard apple has a sweet taste, soft flesh and a characteristic aroma of the land around the foot of Ba Den mountain - a spiritual and tourist symbol; Trang Bang dew-dried rice paper is soft and chewy, bearing the appearance of a "culinary heritage", with a delicate and meticulous manual processing from the stages of selecting rice, making flour, spreading rice paper to drying at night dew, the rustic Tay Ninh shrimp chili salt has become a "branded" dipping dish, thanks to the harmonious combination of the salty taste of salt, the sweetness of shrimp, the spicy taste of chili, the mild aroma of lemongrass... All have created a product imbued with the identity of Tay Ninh.

Drying chili salt and shrimp at Hai chili salt production facility (Hoa Thanh town), one of the occupations recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as an intangible cultural heritage. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc Hong Tham.

To maximize its potential, Tay Ninh has gradually linked the OCOP program with tourism development. The province has established OCOP product sales points in places with many tourists such as Ba Den Mountain National Tourist Area, the suburbs of Cao Dai Holy See, Long Hoa Trade Center, Go Ken Pagoda or trade and tourism promotion fairs and conferences... This is not only a place to display, introduce and consume specialty products, but also a highlight in the journey to explore local culture and cuisine, becoming a bridge between rural areas and tourism, contributing to preserving the value of traditional local products.

In addition, the province focuses on building tourist areas and spots that are suitable to the potential and advantages to develop agricultural products and local specialties under the program "One Commune One Product" to serve the needs of tourists. Accordingly, many policies have been issued to support the development of rural industries, preserve and develop traditional occupations and traditional craft villages in Tay Ninh province.

Specifically, the province supports 50% of the cost (up to 50 million VND) to build OCOP sales points in crowded areas such as tourist attractions, markets, and public places. These points must have an area of ​​20m2 or more and at least 50% of products are OCOP Tay Ninh; support the cost of trademark registration (35 million VND/product), packaging - printing stamps according to star rating levels (3 stars: 10 million VND, 4 stars: 20 million VND, 5 stars: 30 million VND/product), to increase product value and improve people's lives. The province has built and put into operation 29 models associated with 10 typical product groups.

A Muoi Son rice paper production facility in Tay Ninh city. Photo: Tam Giang

The OCOP program helps craft villages expand their production scale, improve product quality and increase their competitiveness in the market. According to Mr. Truong Tan Dat - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, since the OCOP program was implemented, the province has had 139 products ranked 3 stars or higher, including many products from traditional craft villages.

“Tay Ninh identifies tourism as one of the strategic breakthroughs for socio-economic development, striving to make tourism a key economic sector by 2030. Therefore, the province focuses on developing rural tourism products, building destinations suitable to the potential of each region, connecting the tourism system with OCOP products. Linking OCOP products with tourism is a necessary and important direction, helping to expand the space for rural economic development, while preserving cultural values ​​and traditional agricultural environment,” said Mr. Truong Tan Dat.

Tourists experience the craft of making dew-dried rice paper at the 5th Trang Bang Dew-dried Rice Paper Culture and Tourism Festival in 2024. Photo: Tam Giang

In 2025, the province will focus on developing tourism associated with developing rural occupations, traditional occupations, craft villages, and traditional craft villages; preserving and promoting the national cultural identity of traditional occupations and traditional craft villages associated with agricultural, rural, and service tourism activities; forming tours, routes, and tourist destinations associated with localities with specialty products of traditional occupations and traditional craft villages to introduce and promote to domestic and foreign tourists.

According to Plan No. 1301/KH-UBND dated April 16, 2025 of the People's Committee of Tay Ninh province, by the end of 2025, the province strives to have 20-25 more products recognized as OCOP products of 3 stars or higher, bringing the total number of products evaluated and classified as 3 stars or higher in the province to 150 products. Of which, there are 2 potential 5-star products, submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for evaluation and classification of national OCOP products.

Tam Giang

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/san-pham-ocop-cau-noi-nong-thon-va-du-lich-a191675.html