To help craft villages take off

With its rich cultural and historical heritage and dozens of existing traditional craft villages, Kien Xuong district aims to develop craft villages in conjunction with spiritual tourism , ecotourism, and experiential sightseeing, helping the craft villages to flourish.

Silver-engraved products are popular among tourists who buy them for personal use and as gifts.

Side job becomes main job

Although called a craft village, in reality, the entire commune engages in the craft; what's called a secondary occupation is actually the primary occupation – this is the unique characteristic of some craft villages in Kien Xuong district. Despite the many ups and downs of history, the traditional craft villages here have continued to develop diversely, maintaining 25 craft villages. Many craft villages and their products are showing promising development trends, such as Dong Xam silver carving, Thuong Hien rattan weaving, Nam Cao silk weaving, and Hong Tien fermented rice. Besides the stable development of traditional crafts, the district has introduced several new crafts such as nylon mat weaving, crochet, and artificial eyelash making, contributing to job creation and stable income for rural workers. To date, the district has 6 artisans recognized at the national level, and 3 products – Dong Xam silver carving, Hong Tien fermented crab paste, and Hong Tien fermented rice – have been granted collective trademarks for craft village products. Many craft villages are bustling and vibrant, operating year-round and providing the main source of income for local residents.

The rattan and bamboo weaving craft in Thuong Hien has developed, creating stable jobs for thousands of workers.

For example, in Thuong Hien commune, thanks to supplementary occupations, the people there have a stable income of 3.5 - 5 million VND/person/month.

Mr. Pham Xuan Hop, Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, said: "The traditional rattan and bamboo weaving village has existed for over 100 years but has become the main source of income for the people in the commune. This craft has many different stages and a diverse range of products, from rattan surfaces to flower arrangements and baskets for export, so the village has never stopped operating. To date, 75% of households in the commune still maintain the craft, with two large enterprises and dozens of establishments specializing in supplying raw materials and purchasing products. Most remarkably, people outside the working age, students, children, officials, and civil servants can all work in this craft and earn a high income."

Along with that, Kien Xuong district has always paid attention to and created favorable conditions for the development of small-scale industries, crafts, and craft villages. Therefore, the production model of crafts and craft villages is gradually changing towards professionalism and efficiency, shifting from individual households to establishing private enterprises to increase development potential and competitiveness in the market. To date, the entire district has 18 enterprises and cooperatives and 256 production and business establishments operating in craft villages with over 10,000 workers. A typical example is the Dong Xam silver carving craft village, which currently has over 300 households engaged in the craft, attracting about 4,000 workers, concentrated in three communes: Hong Thai, Le Loi, and Tra Giang. In 2022, the value of production from this craft reached over 1,000 billion VND, with an average annual growth rate of 13.5% during the 2018-2022 period, and average income of 3.5-4.5 million VND per person per month.

Unlocking the tourism potential of traditional craft villages.

Awakening the tourism potential of craft villages is one of the new directions in the development of craft villages in Kien Xuong, aiming to promote the cultural beauty of craft villages, thereby preserving, developing, and conserving traditional cultural values, sustainably developing craft villages, and attracting more tourists to craft villages in particular and Thai Binh province in general.

Mr. Nguyen Van Duc, Chairman of the People's Committee of Kien Xuong District, said: The craft villages in the district are considered to still have a lot of room and potential for developing products to serve tourism activities. Many craft villages still retain many traditional beauties, creating many attractive and novel points for tourists. To make craft villages a unique cultural product, Kien Xuong will plan, select, invest in, preserve, and maintain characteristic craft villages, targeting various tourist groups; build cultural spaces for craft villages; create attractive goods to attract tourists to shop; preserve the traditional beauty of the craft villages; and develop the transportation system to facilitate tourist visits. For example, the Nam Cao silk weaving village has not only become a shining example of a new model and approach to restoring and developing traditional craft villages but is also linked to rural tourism and experiential tourism. Kien Xuong has been developing a chain of craft village tourism, from Dong Xam silver engraving to Nam Cao silk weaving to Thuong Hien rattan and bamboo weaving, creating products and unique experiences for tourists and contributing to the development of services and trade in the localities. Regarding the Nam Cao silk weaving village, the District People's Committee has coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to compile documentation for its recognition as an intangible cultural heritage of the craft village.

The looms and the skilled craftsmen are passionate about their work.

Ms. Luong Thanh Hanh, Director of the Nam Cao Silk Cooperative, shared: "Restoring the craft village has been a great success, but most importantly, I have gradually developed an experiential tourism destination for domestic and international tourists to visit and shop. This model combines farmers, cooperatives, and companies, creating a value chain from production to product consumption. The cooperative has established a mulberry cultivation and silkworm farming area, attracting more than 200 households in Nam Cao to engage in the craft, and Hanh Silk in Hanoi is responsible for product consumption. What is special is that the craft village in Nam Cao still retains the essence and unique image of the Vietnamese countryside of the past, such as old country houses, winding village roads with ornamental trees, ancient brick walls, wooden looms, the sound of weaving machines, and elderly people diligently working, creating an impressive and interesting picture for tourists." When visiting the craft village, tourists will have the opportunity to explore the rural landscape, listen to stories about the restoration of the craft, admire and experience spinning, reeling, and weaving silk, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of the cultural beauty of traditional Vietnamese crafts. Therefore, the cooperative's orientation is to develop the silk weaving craft combined with experiential tourism on a 5-hectare scale with complete infrastructure to welcome 50,000 domestic and international tourists, creating jobs and stable income for over 1,000 workers, and increasing revenue from trade and tourism activities by 30% per year.

Thus, developing tourism in craft villages is considered an important solution in preserving, conserving, and honoring unique traditional cultural values, while also providing strong support for rural areas in Kien Xuong to shift their economic structure towards sustainable development. Therefore, in addition to issuing mechanisms and implementing many synchronized solutions to encourage, support, and create conditions for organizations and individuals to participate in the development of crafts and craft villages, Kien Xuong will strengthen coordination to effectively implement trade promotion programs, invite and attract businesses to participate in the development of craft villages, and create momentum for the socio-economic development of the district.

Thu Thuy

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