Attend a 'healing' workshop that's delicious, nutritious, and affordable.

At 9 am on a weekend, about 30 enthusiastic young people gathered at a small-scale gardening and decorating workshop in District 1 (Ho Chi Minh City). On the tables were white pots, growing medium, paints, and plants, all arranged attractively.

Students learn knitting in a workshop led by sisters Linh Dan and Khanh Ha to make gifts for children in mountainous areas - Photo: N.SANG

Nowadays, there are many workshops that teach young people how to make crafts, decorate, paint, etc. With costs ranging from just a few tens to a few hundred thousand dong per session and the opportunity to take home the finished product, this is a way for young people to relieve stress and "heal" rather than staying home and scrolling through their phones.

Let's plant a potted plant together!

With her fingers stained with paint, wearing an apron around her neck, and looking excited, Nguyen Phuong Thu (27 years old, office worker, residing in District 3) shared: "I came here with my friend. It's the weekend, so I wanted to do something relaxing and useful instead of lying at home being lazy and watching TikTok."

Having said that, Thu continued to carefully paint colorful flowers on the outside of the pot with her thin brush. When it came to planting, she placed a piece of potting mix at the bottom of the pot and used a wooden spoon to scoop in nutrient-rich "soil." She planted three small plants: jade plant, Schefflera, and velvet plant.

The whole thing lasted over an hour, but for Thu and the other young people, it was truly refreshing and relaxing. Hong Tham (26 years old, Thu's friend) said: "Before, I participated in some workshops making scented candles, painting from templates… It cost a few hundred thousand dong but I really enjoyed it. Looking at such pretty and lovely things made the stress of the week disappear."

For this workshop, 9X Garden provides all the necessary materials for participants. After completion, participants receive a paper bag to carry their potted plants home. The use of environmentally friendly materials throughout the process is considered a plus by young people who love a green lifestyle.

Besides gardening and decorating workshops, some places also organize terrarium decorating workshops. These are miniature ecosystems in glass containers, allowing participants to explore a vibrant miniature world and create their own with small plants, moss, pebbles, water, etc. The workshop will guide young people on the origins, classification, and care of these plants and aquatic plants, with a cost starting from 400,000 VND per person.

Young people decorate and plant small potted plants together - Photo: Y.TR.

Affordable workshops with excellent service.

On Sunday, at the "Weekend DIY" workshop on making greeting cards and gift bags organized by 2Hi Closet in Phu Nhuan district, young people enthusiastically created their own products.

This is a free workshop, requiring only 1-2 hours to create a finished product, and is suitable for beginners in crafting. However, if young people take their finished products home, there will be a fee, averaging 10,000 - 115,000 VND depending on the theme.

"We prioritize using readily available, recycled, and environmentally friendly materials such as fabric and paper, with the aim of minimizing costs for participants," a representative from the organization stated.

This shop also offers a "hands-on" crafting option, suitable for those with clear product goals or who want to work in large quantities, preferring a private space or going with a group of friends. The price is 180,000 VND per person for 3 hours, with no limit on the products you can take home.

Nowadays, young people in urban areas have many workshops to choose from. For crafts, they often choose workshops on making flowers, knitting, baking, gardening, making perfume, soap, etc.

One of the organization's purposes, as one unit introduced it: "How are you doing lately? Are deadlines making you forget to eat, sleep, and even yourself?"

Motivation at work, relationships that weren't the same as they were in the beginning... You need a place to find peace and tranquility again. Or simply, you want to make a meaningful gift for someone with your own hands?

Mr. Tran Duc Lap, the founder of 9X Garden, said that the place has been holding workshops since 2016 when this trend was only popular in Europe, Hong Kong, and Thailand. He shared: "In recent years, plant lovers have tended to prefer hands-on experiences rather than buying ready-made products, and workshop services have consequently boomed."

This is an opportunity for us to share with our customers our knowledge on how to grow and care for indoor plants in the most systematic and effective way."

He said his company is stepping up the organization of workshops. For customers who want to participate in person, the company will offer flexible registration times throughout the day. Participants come in various age groups, but the majority are young people and office workers.

Expand your customer base across different age groups and professions.

The trend of organizing workshops for groups, teams, companies, etc., is the business model that workshop providers are aiming for.

A representative from 2Hi Closet stated that in addition to catering to individual customers, the company also offers "mobile workshops" tailored to the needs of groups, schools, and businesses. If requested, the shop can provide services on-site.

According to Mr. Duc Lap, 9X Garden offers workshops for businesses and individual clients or small groups. Business clients will have their workshops organized according to the event schedule provided by the client.

The program prioritizes hands-on activities and content over giving away a ready-made gift. "Everyone has time to participate in workshops together. This helps strengthen employee cohesion and team spirit, or enhance the customer service experience for the business," he shared.

This type of workshop business model is gaining popularity, especially among young people. Many businesses are therefore striving to create newer, more diverse models. Each place offers products ranging from simple to high-end, with more complex techniques. Costs range from a few hundred thousand to millions of dong, depending on the product being created.

According to Mr. Duc Lap, recently in major cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi , and many other provinces and cities, workshop activities are expanding with many different forms.

This is currently a popular pastime for young people who enjoy DIY activities or want to find a relaxing space. "We hope that such types of activities will become more popular and develop further," he expressed.

Spread the spirit of giving.

Besides providing relaxation, some workshops now serve a charitable purpose.

Outside of school hours, sisters Truong Bao Linh Dan (11th grade student) and Truong Bao Khanh Ha (8th grade student, residing in Binh Thanh district) organize free crochet workshops to donate to children in mountainous areas.

Taught crochet by their grandmother, the two sisters have been running workshops since March 2024. Participants are lent tools and can take their finished products home or donate them to children in mountainous regions at the end of the session.

Khanh Ha said: "When the cold season comes, children in the highlands who don't have warm clothes, gloves, or hats will be freezing, so we often do charity work and donate items so that everyone can stay warm."

Good ways to reduce internet addiction

According to psychologist Nguyen Thi Tam from the Hon Viet Center for Applied Psychological Science Training, activities such as drawing, immersing oneself in nature, planting ornamental plants, and making handicrafts have therapeutic effects on the mind.

Young people who are experiencing stress and tension to the point of difficulty concentrating can participate in these activities to get outside and regain focus. This also helps them express their emotions better.

For young office workers who often sit within four walls doing repetitive, boring, or overly stressful tasks, these activities can help them relax and reduce stress.

When a person regularly engages in an activity like playing games or browsing social media for extended periods, they may become dependent on that behavior and attention. To reduce this dependence, young people can replace it with a more engaging activity such as gardening, drawing, or decorating, which helps gradually break the old habit of behavioral dependence.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/di-workshop-chua-lanh-ngon-bo-re-20250102093429466.htm