An Duong preserves traditional craft villages amid urbanization

Faced with the impact of urbanization, An Duong ward (Hai Phong) is making efforts to preserve and develop traditional craft villages, while building a tourist destination with its own identity.

Peach growing area in Tu Lap residential group.

Local identity

For the people of Tu Lap and Dan Hanh residential groups (in Dong Du village, Dang Cuong commune, old An Duong district), peach growing is no longer simply a profession for economic development, but also a brand and identity of the locality.

Mr. Dang Van Tam, a peach grower in Tu Lap residential group, said that Dong Du flower and ornamental plant growing village has a long history with main products being peach and camellia.

Although it is hard work, ornamental plants bring higher economic value than many other crops, helping people have a more stable income. Therefore, although farming is currently facing many difficulties, he and many households in the residential group always try to overcome them to maintain.

In addition to Dong Du flower and ornamental plant growing village, currently in the ward there are 2 other craft villages recognized as Tri Yeu flower and ornamental plant growing village with main products of peach blossom, kumquat, and camellia and Kinh Giao rice paper making village.

Rice paper production in Kinh Giao craft village.

In particular, in the two flower and ornamental plant growing villages of Dong Du and Tri Yeu, the total area is nearly 130 hectares with about 800 households directly involved in production. In recent years, the production and business results of the craft villages have opened up a good development direction; the expansion of the craft village economic model has contributed significantly to preserving the ecological environment, and is the most vibrant village tourist destination during the Lunar New Year.

Economic development activities in the two craft villages above attract a large number of idle agricultural workers to participate, providing them with jobs and stable incomes. The consumption rate of products in the craft villages reaches 98%, the average income of workers in the craft villages is from 10 to 15 million VND/month.

Kinh Giao rice paper making village has been granted a product trademark certificate by the Department of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Science and Technology . There are about 70 households in the village, specializing in producing rice paper using traditional methods to supply markets inside and outside the city. The products are consumed stably, contributing to creating jobs and stable income for the people.

Building tourist attractions in craft villages

In the period of 2025 - 2030, one of the groups of tasks and solutions that An Duong ward has identified to focus on implementing to promote economic development in the area is to develop clean, organic agriculture associated with concentrated production areas, promote the value of craft villages and eco-tourism models, and communities in urban - agricultural spaces.

According to comrade Tran Thi Quynh Trang, Secretary of the Party Committee of An Duong Ward, traditional craft villages in the area are both a livelihood and a unique cultural heritage of the locality. This is also the foundation for An Duong to develop OCOP products, linking agriculture with services and tourism, creating a sustainable value chain in the context of development and expansion of urban space.

Households take care of ornamental peach trees.

However, in reality, the development of craft villages still faces some difficulties. These include the lack of synchronous infrastructure for production; climate change, epidemics and urbanization pressure continue to have a major impact on production... Access to loans from credit institutions for production development is still limited...

To promote the value of craft villages, in the coming time, An Duong ward will coordinate with the city's departments and branches to implement support programs, encourage the preservation and development of craft villages, such as preserving the gene of Dong Du village's rosebush, building product brands associated with OCOP. The ward also plans to take advantage of suburban spaces, flower and ornamental plant areas combined with village cultural heritage to build community tourism tours, initially focusing on developing a tourist destination in Dong Du flower and ornamental plant growing craft village that meets standards to serve visitors.

To realize this goal, the government and people hope that the city will study appropriate mechanisms, remove land problems, expand land areas, create conditions for large-scale and effective production; at the same time, have preferential policies on credit, support for transport infrastructure, irrigation, electricity, product display centers, to link production with tourism services.

MINH CHAM

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/an-duong-gin-giu-lang-nghe-truyen-thong-giua-do-thi-hoa-525997.html