Born in a craft village, his whole life is devoted to the profession; there are ups and downs, but with a great love for the profession, over the past decades, artisan Pham Van Thuc and the villagers have devotedly and wholeheartedly "kept the fire" of the profession. As diligent as silkworms spinning silk, "kept the fire" people like Thuc have together woven the brand for Nha Xa silk products and brought the dream of the weaving village far and wide. With delicate patterns, colorful patches, and high-quality materials, Nha Xa silk products today have gone beyond the "village bamboo fence" and reached the West.
Receiving us on a winter afternoon, in the room displaying colorful silk products, while sipping a cup of strong tea, artisan Pham Van Thuc slowly told us: Nha Xa silk weaving has been around for over 700 years, since the appearance of looms made from rudimentary mahogany trees in the garden, with the main woven products being twisted silk to supply to people who work as fish catchers on the Red River or statue bags, backpacks and simple items serving the daily needs of people in the area. Through many vicissitudes of life, historical changes, like many other traditional craft villages in the country, Nha Xa silk weaving also sometimes faded away. It was not until 1980 that Nha Xa silk weaving was truly restored with the establishment of Hong Tien Silk Weaving Cooperative (the predecessor of today's Hong Tien Nha Xa Silk Weaving Eco-Tourism Cooperative). With the talented hands and dedication of the “fire keepers”, the vitality of the traditional silk weaving village of Nha Xa has quickly revived. The harmonious combination of economic benefits and traditional cultural values has contributed to creating a unique identity for Nha Xa silk and for the entire fertile land along the Red River.
“A good product needs no bush”, many people have come to Nha Xa not only to choose for themselves and their friends the silk they want, but also to satisfy their desire to learn, explore and experience the traditional silk weaving craft of the village... Nha Xa silk is not only beautiful because of its material, color, and sophisticated patterns, but also because of the rustic charm imbued in each silk square. So, every time I suddenly see the silk dresses of the gentle ladies walking on the street, I long to return... Although I was not born and raised in the village, every time I come back to Nha Xa, in the sound of the shuttles, touching the cool silk squares, I feel the love of the craftsmen in each weaving frame and love this land even more.
After the silk squares were neatly arranged on the shelves, Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc Lien (Mr. Thuc’s wife) skillfully added more water to the teapot to serve the guests. According to her, we know that she is currently the Vice President of the Hong Tien Nha Xa Silk Weaving Eco-Tourism Cooperative; the “leader” of the famous Lien Thuc silk weaving facility in the region; at the same time, she is also one of the “fire keepers” and “fire spreaders”, bringing the products and culture of the traditional craft village to domestic and international friends.
She said: Although she was not born and raised in a craft village, fate brought her to the weaving profession and her life has been attached to the silk weaving profession for nearly 30 years. She was born in Tu Dai village (in Chuyen Ngoai commune, Duy Tien), a place famous for silk weaving to supply Nha Xa village, so since she was a child she loved the silk weaving profession in Nha Xa. Therefore, right after graduating from high school, she went to Nha Xa village to learn silk weaving and when she became a professional, she also met Mr. Pham Van Thuc, one of the four current artisans in the village. For nearly 30 years, not only has she "kept the fire" for the traditional silk weaving profession of the village, she has devoted all her love and passion to developing the profession. In 2023, with the desire to continue to inherit the quintessence of the craft village; connect with spiritual tourism; Building a series of tourism experiences in craft villages and tourist attractions for visitors to Nha Xa weaving village, her project to start a traditional silk production business in Nha Xa associated with the eco-tourism chain of Lanh Giang temple was highly appreciated by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union and she was honored to receive the Encouragement Prize at the contest "Women starting a business to promote indigenous resources in 2023".
The craft does not fail its people, the life of the villagers is increasingly prosperous, with an average income of 8-10 million VND/person/month. The good news is that currently, many young people in the village have been and are continuing the tradition of the village, bringing the village's products to the West... For Ms. Lien's family, that love has been doubled, tripled, when her two daughters, after graduating from university, continued the family tradition of introducing and promoting the village's traditional products to international friends. Villagesilk Company Limited, with her daughter as director, has been officially established.
Currently, her family's facility is one of the few in the village that can handle all stages of silk weaving from spinning, weaving, bleaching and dyeing to finishing and exporting to the market. On average, each month she produces and sells about 5-6 thousand meters of silk fabric of all kinds, from high-end to popular. Since 2022, she has switched to marketing and has become one of the main facilities with large consumption in the locality.
Leading us around the village, pointing to the smooth asphalt roads, the spacious houses among the green of the trees, Mr. Nguyen Hong Tien, Director of Hong Tien Nha Xa Silk Weaving Eco-Tourism Cooperative shared: The post-Covid-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to many economic sectors, but at the same time, it has also opened up many opportunities for e-commerce to develop. Seizing that opportunity, Nha Xa people have quickly approached and developed the online market instead of just consuming through the traditional market as before. Thanks to that, the annual output of products consumed by the village has increased sharply, 3-4 times higher than before Covid-19. All the products produced are sold. The lives of the villagers have improved day by day; the appearance of the new countryside in Nha Xa is increasingly prosperous...
Currently, in Nha Xa there are more than 150 households involved in weaving, with 500 weaving machines; on average, each year produces and consumes 800,000 - 1,000,000 meters of silk. In 2016, the Nha Xa Silk Association was established, contributing to changing the thinking and business style of the workers in the craft village. Workers have been linked in production and consumption, no longer the "everyone does it their own way" style. The quality and reputation of the products have also been increasingly improved. However, when asked about the development orientation of the craft village in the coming years, what will it be? After a moment of contemplation, Mr. Nguyen Hong Tien shared: As a person with nearly 10 years of experience working with the Nha Xa Silk Weaving Association and recently the Hong Tien Nha Xa Silk Weaving Eco-Tourism Cooperative, right from the early years of its establishment, as the leader, he always aspires to enhance the value of Nha Xa silk products, so wherever there are fairs and exhibitions, he is present, to seek opportunities to expand the market, bringing silk products to consumers. But how can Nha Xa silk weaving survive and maintain its identity? How can silk products carry the village's brand when reaching out to the "big sea"? is still a concern of those working in the profession. In recent years, although many policies and orientations on developing the craft village have been implemented, it seems that for a long time, the villagers have been groping to find a way.
To save themselves and their profession, the villagers have invested billions of dong to build a wastewater treatment system from the bleaching and dyeing stages before discharging it into the environment, minimizing the level of pollution. In particular, from 2021, implementing the model new rural construction program of Moc Nam commune and the orientation of Duy Tien town People's Committee on developing spiritual tourism in the chain connecting Tam Chuc, Long Doi Son pagoda, Lanh Giang temple and the experience of visiting the traditional silk weaving village of Nha Xa, Hong Tien Nha Xa Silk Weaving Eco-tourism Cooperative has been established. As a dedicated, dedicated and knowledgeable person in the profession, Mr. Tien, Ms. Lien, and Mr. Thuc always hope that, in addition to the efforts of the villagers, there is a real need for the support of local Party committees, authorities, and functional agencies. Only then can Nha Xa silk continue to fly high and far, and the dream of a famous brand for Nha Xa silk will come true./.
Minh Thu
Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/kinh-te/nganh-nghe-nong-thon/lua-nha-xa-det-uoc-mo-bay-xa-145438.html
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