Households in Ben Hen Village in Duc Tho District have caught clams for 300 years. Around 100 households in the village have engaged in this profession.
In the early morning, local men come to La River to pick clams and return to the shore at around 1 p.m. to wash and boil them. Each pot holds 3-5 kilos of clams and is boiled for 15 minutes. The residents then gut the clams for sale.
The clam cooking area stretches about 400 metres along the banks of La River. It has dozens of sheds temporarily set up with wooden stakes and corrugated iron roofs. Each has an area of 3-5 square metres.
The clam harvesting mainly takes place during the dry season.
Nguyen Thi Thi, 65, from Truong Son Commune, said she has 50 years of experience in the clam harvesting and gutting sector.
Pham Thi Hong Thom, 40, shared that her family's daily sale of 10-15 kilogrammes of clam, earning VND1 million, is a testament to the economic significance of this activity. The product, sold at VND70,000-90,000 per kilo, reaches different localities nationwide, contributing to the household income and the local economy.