In Vietnam’s “incense village”, dozens are hard at work dying, drying and whittling down bamboo bark to make the fragrant sticks ahead of the busy lunar new year holiday. It is the most frantic time of year for workers in the cottage industry in Quang Phu Cau village on the outskirts of Hanoi, where families have been making incense for more than a century — a great source of pride for many. “It is a traditional and spiritual job making these sticks,” Dang Thi Hoa told AFP, sitting amid bundles of bright pink incense sticks drying under the afternoon sun. Most households in the alleys of Quang Phu Cau are involved in the ancient trade. The work offers more than just pride for many in Quang Phu Cau: like Hoa, many earn good money making incense compared to factory work nearby.

Source: Egypt Independent January 08, 2019 04:30 UTC