Ms. Tham Muoi Haha Family: Dropping a Bachelor of Law Degree and an Inspiring Story

The salt buyer character appearing at the end of episode 6 of the Haha Family program turned out to be a familiar face on clean food shelves: Ms. Tham - a woman with a passion for white salt fields, doing conservation tourism and bringing Sa Huynh's "white gold" far and wide.

Sa Huynh - a coastal area in Quang Ngai province has long been famous on the archaeological map with ancient sites, but few people know that this place also possesses another beauty: endless salt fields, dazzling white under the sun. And that is also the next stop on the journey of Haha Family members.

In episode 5, entitled Salt Making Experience in Quang Ngai, the cast was brought to the "common house", where they took on the role of real salt workers, under the dedicated guidance of Mr. Diep - a person who has been involved in the salt industry all his life. The story seemed to end peacefully in the sunset at the end of episode 6, when everyone was scooping salt into bags together... then suddenly a new character appeared, surprising the entire filming crew.

That woman is Ms. Tham, briefly introduced by Mr. Diep: "The salt buyer". But the way she talks naturally, intimately and charmingly in front of the camera makes everyone wonder: Is this a "planted" character of the program? No! When the image was shared on social networks, the community realized: Ms. Tham is not only a "real salt buyer", but also a "branded" name in the Sa Huynh region.

Upon closer inspection, it turns out that Ms. Tham, whose full name is Pham Hong Tham, born in 1993, is not simply a trader. She graduated with a degree in Law and could have lived a different life in the city if she had not had such a great love for the salt of her hometown. Seeing people leaving the salt fields because the price was too cheap, Tham decided to return, stepping into the scorching salt fields, to begin her journey to reclaim the true value of Sa Huynh salt.

Because the salt here, a seemingly ordinary spice, actually has a very unique flavor: salty yet mild, pure, crystallized from the sun and wind of the Central region. But due to lack of outlets and lack of brand, Sa Huynh salt is forced to the point of not being able to make a living. And that is what makes Ms. Tham unhappy.

Putting aside his Bachelor of Law degree, he carried a backpack of salt and went to "conquer the South and conquer the North"

After graduating with a degree in Law from the University of Economics and Law - Ho Chi Minh City National University in 2015, Tham decided to enhance the value of her hometown salt by creating an outlet for Sa Huynh sea salt. She supports the traditional method on sedimentary clay soil, which helps reduce plastic and microplastic waste, protects the environment and salt field ecosystem, and also helps create natural salt products with the characteristics of the soil and special flavor. For Tham, the natural saltiness of traditional sea salt on the soil is the most delicious and delicate flavor of sea salt.

Born and raised in Pho Thanh ward, Duc Pho town, Quang Ngai province, the girl born in 1993 understands the difficulties and hardships of Sa Huynh salt farmers. In 2017, in an interview with Tuoi Tre newspaper, Tham confided: "If it were for money, with a degree from Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Law, I could have settled down to work in Ho Chi Minh City. I sell salt because I want society to give salt back justice. Why is salt so cheap even though everyone uses it every day?"

Salt farmers work hard to produce clean salt, but there are times when the price of salt drops to only 300 VND/kg, Tham wants to find a way to find an outlet and increase the price of salt to improve the lives of salt farmers in her hometown.

And so, starting from those days, the 9x girl continuously went on trips to conquer customers, always having two or three bags of salt in her backpack to introduce. By October 2015, Tham sold the first kilos of salt to the market. The good news is that after a year, nearly 50 tons of salt were successfully brought by Tham to the shelves of clean food stores nationwide.

She signed contracts with the people, guiding them back to the old method of making salt by hand, without bleach, without chemicals, without industrial machines. Those seemingly simple changes were a small revolution in consciousness, costing time, effort, and money.

Then came the story of building a salt mine - a model that almost no one does anymore, going to school by herself, going to exchanges, inviting partners, promoting products from scratch. Compared to the thousands of tons of salt still lying on the fields stretching across Sa Huynh, perhaps that number is very small but it is the first sweet fruit on Tham's journey to bring Sa Huynh's "white gold" far and wide.

SAHU clean salt brand contributes to bringing Sa Huynh "white gold" far and wide

At first, Tham's salt factory only produced a few basic products such as refined salt and stewed salt. But from those sweat-soaked salt grains, she began to create new values. Now, the factory's salt is not only clean but also handmade and artistic: Salt flowers - considered the "quintessence of salt fields" - are sold for 34,000 VND/kg, 17 times higher than raw salt; while salt preserved in bamboo tubes costs up to 100,000 VND/kg, 50 times higher.

There is no shortcut for a decent grain of salt. And Tham chose to take the long way to preserve the purity, the flavor, and the trust from that salty land. In 2017, Tham and the salt farmers of Sa Huynh researched and created the first standard salt flower in Vietnam.

Sahu salt flowers are not only recognized for their culinary value but also contribute to improving the livelihoods of local salt farmers. During her years working in the salt industry, Tham has always accompanied and encouraged salt farmers to improve their salt-making techniques and always purchased ground sea salt at the highest price.

The customers that Tham targets are not the noisy majority, but those who quietly choose a healthy lifestyle, always prioritizing clean, quality and safe food to maintain the health of themselves and their families. They are a group of careful consumers, but because of that, they are also a group of loyal people who know how to appreciate true value.

However, in a market full of "colorful packaging, fragile quality" products, for an original grain of salt from Sa Huynh to stand firm and go far, in addition to the quality factor, Ms. Tham clearly understands: Promotion is an indispensable bridge. "To make a living from the profession, the person making the product must dare to commit to quality. Only when consumers believe in safety and cleanliness, will they be willing to come back and accompany them for a long time," she shared.

With that mindset, in early 2018, Tham decided not only to make salt but also to create a brand. Tham established SAHU Salt Company Limited in Pho Thanh Ward, Duc Pho Town, with the desire to bring hometown salt beyond the village market.

To date, SAHU is not only the name of a company but also a belief formed from perseverance and transparency. Tham's enterprise has created stable jobs for many local workers, and the traditional salt products she makes are available at dozens of agents across provinces and cities - a solid step for Sa Huynh salt on its journey "to the big sea".

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