700-year-old craft village in dire straits due to "suspended" planning

Craft villages "shrink"

Visiting Bao Ha village in Dong Minh commune, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city , we saw the usual chiseling and carving sounds in traditional craft villages of sculpture and lacquerware were absent. Talking to Nguoi Dua Tin reporter about the current state of the craft village in his hometown, Mr. Pham Van Ngoc, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Minh commune, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city, could not hide his sadness: "The traditional craft village of sculpture and lacquerware Bao Ha has existed for more than 700 years, when the founder of the craft, Mr. Nguyen Cong Hue, learned the craft from China and then returned to teach it to the local people. The most famous work of the craft village is the statue of Linh Lang Dai Vuong carved from wood by Mr. Nguyen Cong Hue, currently worshiped at Bao Ha temple. The statue stands up when the temple caretaker opens the door to the First Palace and sits down when it closes.

Event - Hai Phong: 700-year-old craft village in dire straits due to — Mr. To Van Huu, Bao Ha village, Dong Minh commune, sculpted a statue ordered by a customer.

The period from 1977 to 1983 was the golden age of the traditional craft village of Bao Ha sculpture and lacquerware. At that time, the whole village had about 200 households working in the craft. Sculptures, lacquerware, especially wooden statues carved by the talented hands of Bao Ha artisans were exported to the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. After that, due to many reasons, especially the rapid urbanization, the land for production was increasingly narrowed to make room for residential land. Many households stopped production due to lack of space to open workshops. From 200 households, up to now, there are less than 50 households following the traditional craft.

The narrowing of production has led to a decrease in the economic efficiency of the profession. Mr. To Van Huu, Bao Ha village, Dong Minh commune, informed that currently, out of nearly 50 households still following the profession, only about 20 households have a revenue of 400-500 million VND/year or more. The remaining nearly 30 households have an average income of about 80-100 million VND/year, slightly higher than rice cultivation, vegetable growing, pig and chicken raising... Low income makes the young generation in Bao Ha, instead of following the traditional profession passed down from their ancestors, choose to work at enterprises in and outside Vinh Bao district.

Faced with the above situation, in order to preserve the traditional profession as well as ensure their livelihood, in recent times, the craftsmen in Bao Ha have changed to "save themselves, save their profession". In particular, in the past 5 years, in addition to carving statues for worship in pagodas, temples, and shrines, the sculptors in Bao Ha have also taken on additional jobs of carving portraits, scrolls, horizontal lacquered boards, etc. according to orders. Large portraits are 47-60 cm high and cost 10-15 million VND, while small ones are about 40-41 cm high and cost 5-7 million VND. Scrolls, horizontal lacquered boards, etc., depending on the size, sophistication, wood quality, and requirements of the customer, can cost up to 50-70 million VND/set. Thanks to that, households with "living-off" economies continue to maintain the traditional profession passed down from their ancestors.

Planning "suspended" for more than 10 years

Mr. Vu Xuan Quang, Permanent Vice Chairman of Vinh Bao District People's Committee, Hai Phong City, said: "To help households expand production, thereby keeping the traditional craft village of Bao Ha alive, Vinh Bao District authorities requested the district's specialized agencies to coordinate with Dong Minh Commune People's Committee to plan a concentrated production area with a total area of more than 9 hectares.

In 2013, Hai Phong City approved the first phase of the project with an area of about 3 hectares. It is expected that after completion, this area will meet the needs of more than 100 households working in the sculpture and lacquer craft in Bao Ha, each with a workshop area of up to thousands of square meters instead of the current average of 50-100 square meters.

According to Mr. Pham Van Ngoc, Chairman of Dong Minh Commune People's Committee, right after Hai Phong City approved the planning, nearly 40 households registered to open workshops in the concentrated production area. However, due to the limited local budget, the proposed plan was for households to contribute money to invest in infrastructure. The expected contribution amounted to hundreds of millions of VND per household, so most of the households withdrew. Therefore, for more than 10 years, the planning has remained on paper while the number of households practicing the profession has continuously decreased, and households still following the profession are "thirsty" for production space.

Those who are passionate about the traditional lacquer and sculpture craft in Bao Ha hope that, instead of having households pay to build infrastructure for concentrated production areas, the Hai Phong City government will make the most of preferential mechanisms according to regulations and have its own preferential mechanisms to attract investors. In addition, it will support finding outlets for traditional products and developing new products. Only then can we "keep the fire burning" for the more than 700-year-old craft village that used to be the pride of Hai Phong City.

Thai Phan - Tan Thang

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