Nam O villagers in Hoa Hiep Nam Ward, Lien Chieu District, Da Nang, have long been accustomed to collecting edible seaweed (sargassum henslowianum) growing abundantly around rock pools at the foot of the Hai Van Mountain. This ‘natural gift’ has created a source of food and extra income for local residents.

Delicious and nutrient Nam O seaweed has become attractive to visitors arriving in the city

With a smooth texture and pleasant smell, the seaweed is often considered a type of vegetable and used to cook soup. It tastes salty at first and leaves a light sweet aftertaste as it is chewed.

The seaweed harvest lasts nearly 2 months, from October into November, so many Nam O villagers were very busy collecting these plant-like organisms.

It’s a bumper crop this year, with the chance to earn several millions of VND from selling seaweed.

As the men go out to fish at sea, the seaweed harvesters on the island are mostly women. Dang Thi Hen, a 50-year-old female resident from the Nam O Village, said she started collecting seaweeds when she was a little girl.

Hen’s daily routine involves getting up so early to start collecting seaweed at around 3.00am or 4.00am, and until noon, she harvests a total of about between 6 and 10 kg of seaweeds.

Each harvester carries a set of equipment to collect the seaweed, consisting of a small basket, a spoon, and half a bottle of ash. “We avoid changing them even when they are broken”, said Hen.

To get the seaweed, the harvesters sprinkle a layer of ash to make it less slippery, and then use spoons to scrape the strands from the rocks. The more experienced harvesters prefer pulling them out by hand to avoid breaking them off.

Hen said seaweed can be eaten and used in the preparation of food. As a delicious ingredient for cooking, seaweed is a unique ‘vegetable’ seafood, a gift from the ocean rich in healthy nutrients.

Collectors must exercise extreme caution whilst collecting seaweed clinging onto wet and slippery rock cliffs.

In fact, it is not easy trying to balance on the slippery rocks and harvesting the seaweed, despite the thick sandals. The harvesters’ toes all turn red from holding on to the rocks as they sit in a squatting position to look for the plants.

Seaweed grows in the spring, summer and winter, but that which grows during the winter is considered the tastiest. The plants have a pleasant smell, are about a hand length (10 centimetres) and of a bluish black.

“They should be harvested as soon as possible, otherwise they will turn into tasteless leaves”, said a local harvester.

The price of seaweed is relatively high at the start of the collection season, but it decreases afterwards. At the beginning of the season, the price per kg is about 200,000 VND, and then it drops to 100,000VND - 150,000 VND at mid-season, and finally goes down to only 60,000 VND-70,000 VND at the end of the season.

Despite hardships, even once having escaped death by a hair’s breadth, Nam O harvesters insist on keeping the job, and go looking for seaweed even during bad weather. “Something is better than nothing”, said a local harvester.

Amongst numerous specialties in the city, Nam O seaweed has always won the trust of visitors arriving in this seaside beautiful city destination.

A visitor from Dong Thap Province recently said, “I usually spend time shopping for Nam O seaweed at the popular Han Market Every whenever I have a chance to visit Da Nang. Seaweeds harvested in Da Nang are really more delicious than those sourced from South Korea and Japan sold in supermarkets nationwide".