Many people in Hoang Xa Village of Phu Tho Province's Thanh Thuy District have made a small fortune selling sticky rice.
Hoang Xa villagers sell sticky rice across the country
The people of Hoang Xa Village started selling sticky rice about five years ago. They mainly sell in large cities across the country.
Nguyen Hong Tam is the owner of a company that provides materials and tools to cook sticky rice. He also provides consultancy services for those who wish to enter the trade.
According to Tam, five years ago, some people from Hoang Xa travelled to former Ha Tay and saw how people there were making money selling sticky rice to places such as Hanoi, Lao Cai and Yen Bai.
A Hoang Xa villager sells on Ho Tung Mau Road in Hanoi
The trade has since become more popular. Now many families in Hoang Xa are making their livings by selling sticky rice. They spend much of their time in big cities to make sales.
Nguyen Van Thai, Chairman of the communal People's Committee said, "Hoang Xa Commune has 22 hamlets, with most of the households earning their living by selling sticky rice across the country. This has helped many escape from poverty and some to even get rich."
Villagers earn millions of VND per day
Changing lives
Many people in Hoang Xa have changed their lives with the trade, enabling themselves to buy large homes, some earning the nickname "sticky rice giants".
Many locals said five years ago Hoang Xa was still a fairly poor locality with a lot of families living under the poverty line. But selling sticky rice has become a way for many of them to improve their lives and even save some money.
A house built with money earned selling sticky rice
"Most of us farmers don't have a formal education or a way to get a job, so for us this is a great way to earn a living. I don't know how our lives would be otherwise," Dang Van Thong, a local man commented.
Nguyen Thi Bien, a villager in another hamlet in the commune has one son Nguyen Van Mui who sells sticky rice. He and his wife have been doing the job in Son La Province's Moc Chau District for three years. Previously, Mui was a carpenter who had a hard life but his life has been changed in recent few years thanks to selling sticky rice.
Nguyen Thi Bien, a grandmother taking care of two grandchildren while their parents are away from home for sticky rice sales
"This career doesn't need big initial investment as it costs only around VND10 million to buy a push cart and other tools and materials to start the job," said Nguyen Hong Tam, a local man.
