Preserving the quintessence of traditional craft villages

Businessman Ngo Quy Duc, Founder of “Ve Lang”: Preserving the quintessence of traditional craft villages

Cherishing the dream of preserving and spreading the values of traditional craft villages, young man Ngo Quy Duc from Hanoi has traveled to the countryside for decades to implement the project "Back to the Village", helping many craft villages to connect and promote to expand the market, contributing to promoting tourism development...

The "Back to the Village" programs produced by businessman Ngo Quy Duc all contain messages about preserving national cultural values.

Spend all youth to "Return to the Village"...

In the space displaying typical products of traditional Vietnamese craft villages on Chau Long Street ( Hanoi ), Ngo Quy Duc recalls his journey of “returning to memories”. Each trip to the craft village holds unforgettable memories for him.

Born and raised in the suburbs of Hanoi, Duc's childhood was closely associated with the countryside. Duc still remembers clearly the games he played with the children in the village, especially the lion dance on full moon nights. Although the movements were only clumsy imitations of the professional lion dance troupe that had performed before, Duc's group received enthusiastic cheers from everyone wherever they went.

The image of the children cheering and running after the brave lion moving rhythmically to the sound of the drums created a strong emotion in Duc. At that time, the primary school student dreamed that this simple but fascinating game would happen regularly, so that he and his friends would not have to wait until the village festival...

However, such a simple dream is not easy to come true. Adults are caught up in the hustle and bustle of making ends meet, and hardly anyone pays attention to the children’s need for entertainment. As for Duc and his friends, no matter how hard they try, the masks of the local god, the clown, and the drum are still out of reach, not to mention the expensive lion head…

Duc remembers that the year he entered secondary school, the face of the village where he lived changed dramatically. Many houses in the village were newly built, spacious and impressive. Even Duc’s small house had many changes. The rattan and bamboo furniture that had been with the family for many years gave way to a wooden sofa set, the Dong Ho and Hang Trong folk paintings were replaced by colorful landscape paintings… making Duc feel strange and regretful for losing the familiar objects associated with his childhood.

In 2006, Ngo Quy Duc graduated from university with a degree in information technology. His first product was an online library about Hanoi’s culture and history.

I want to introduce stories about history, culture, and Vietnamese identity, and want international friends to see the best of Vietnamese handicrafts.

- Businessman Ngo Quy Duc

“When I chose information technology, I simply thought about how to search for and store information about handicrafts associated with the countryside, from baskets and trays woven from bamboo, to simple-looking rattan tables and chairs, but inside there is sophistication, then Dong Ho paintings, Hang Trong paintings with the female set, four panels… When I started studying, I realized that there were many greater things that I could do,” Duc said.

From the well-received and highly appreciated online library page, Duc started to implement a series of other meaningful activities. Ngo Quy Duc was the pioneer in bringing folk games to the Hoan Kiem Lake walking street on weekends. He was also one of the initiators of the craft village tour program, the origin of craft village tourism that was later implemented by many travel agencies... In 2017, Ngo Quy Duc was honored to be awarded the title of Outstanding Citizen of the Capital by Hanoi City for his meaningful contributions to the community.

Although the online library was still in its infancy at that time, it was not easy to make. Duc could not remember how many trips he had to make to the villages of Hanoi to look up and collect the necessary information. He traveled alone on his old motorbike, regardless of the weather.

The more he traveled, the more Duc's perspective was broadened. He met and talked with the elders, shared about rural culture, from the very real stories of village life, to the ups and downs of the craft village, the hardships of the people to survive with the profession... Directly witnessing the artisans making the products, going through complicated stages to get a complete product..., Duc felt like he was returning to his memories, to the handicrafts associated with his childhood.

As excited as he was about the culture of the countryside, the reality of many craft villages made Duc sad. Why are such wonderful handmade products becoming increasingly rare in life? Duc asked the question and immediately found the answer within himself. The industrial pace of life makes people forget the items that were once a part of their childhood. Traditional handmade products are not only the quintessence of art from the hands of artisans, but also a vivid picture recreating the history and traditions of the nation, the unique cultural identity of a community.

“I definitely cannot stay out of this game,” Duc thought to himself. He thought that he had to take advantage of information technology knowledge to connect craft villages with the market, promoting the spread of traditional values of craft villages. The “Back to the Village” project was born from that…

Efforts to preserve national cultural values

After 15 years of quiet implementation, in 2020, “Back to the Village” was officially announced. Duc, together with artisans and craftsmen, restored traditional crafts that had been passed down through many generations. He collaborated with businesses to research designs that were suitable for consumer trends. To develop products with practical applications, helping craft villages develop product designs closer to life, Duc established a professional design team to connect and bring craft village products to resorts, hotels, and resorts as souvenirs for tourists.

“In reality, many handicraft products from craft villages have high aesthetic and practical value such as bamboo and rattan weaving, pottery, lacquerware, etc., but they are only used for decoration, while they can be promoted for consumption. However, the quality, art, technique, sophistication, and aesthetics need more attention. We focus on this point to spread the products of craft villages more and more widely,” Duc shared.

In recent times, Ngo Quy Duc has acted as a “bridge” to promote the connection between craft villages and businesses, opening up many opportunities to access the market and exchange between artisans and businesses. Among them, it is possible to mention the success in connecting Chuc Son bamboo craft village to produce storage boxes to supply businesses producing macrobiotic products, Tet gift boxes, etc., creating many jobs and increasing income for workers in the craft village.

In addition, Duc also cooperates with businesses and units specializing in traditional costumes to create products with cultural values that can be applied in everyday life.

In particular, the craft village experience tour program was carefully and methodically built by Duc and his colleagues to bring different experiences to tourists and interested people.

For example, the program “Back to the Village - Golden Silk Thread Weaving Through the Century” brings visitors to Nha Xa silk weaving village (Ha Nam) and Trach Xa traditional Ao Dai sewing village (Hanoi) so that visitors have the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of the long-standing silk weaving and garment village, directly watch the stages such as weaving, dyeing and sewing Ao Dai, visit the exhibition space of the craft village, meet and interact with artisans. This program has created a special attraction for those interested in garments, passionate about fashion, fabrics, and those working in the design field.

The program “Back to the Village - Old Tet in Kinh Bac region” brings tourists to Dong Ho village to learn about the origin of folk paintings, directly print paintings; visit and learn about clay figurines - a rustic toy but imbued with the soul of Vietnamese folklore, attracting many lovers of folk paintings.

The program "Back to the Village - Mid-Autumn Lantern Procession" helps children meet artisans who are still working hard day and night to make traditional toys, preserving the cultural imprint of the nation...

The “Back to the Village” programs focus on the historical and cultural highlights of the village and diversify visitors’ experiences with traditional crafts through the guidance of artisans and skilled workers. Each trip contains a message in preserving national cultural values and is carefully prepared in terms of information, knowledge, stories, and closely connected with those who are holding the quintessence of traditional crafts to design suitable and interesting experiences for visitors.

The greatest success of “Back to the Village” is the enthusiastic support of many craft villages, the support of many artisans with the desire to preserve and spread traditional culture. The project has the cooperation of many young people who are students in economics, communications, fine arts, journalism… who share the same love for traditional national culture.

“My wish for the future is to bring high-quality products from Vietnamese craft villages not only closer to the domestic community, but also spread internationally. I want to introduce stories about history, culture, and identity of the Vietnamese people, and want international friends to see the best of Vietnamese craft villages,” businessman Ngo Quy Duc shared.

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