Hmong women combine brocade weaving with tourism development

For generations, the H'Mong people in Hang Kia and Pa Co communes (Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province) have always preserved the traditional brocade weaving craft. The image of H'Mong women diligently weaving patterns on brocade has become a unique cultural feature of the people here.

EN Hang Kia, Pa Co, it is not difficult to see H'Mong women on the way to the fields, to the market..., carrying a lú cò (back basket), walking and skillfully connecting the flax fibers into rolls. With a hard-working and diligent nature, H'Mong women often weave fabric at any free time. When finished, they continue to boil the fabric in filtered ash water and then wash and dry it several times to make the fabric white, soft, and shiny.

From pure white linen, Hmong women will draw beeswax to create patterns as desired, then dye it with indigo and use colorful threads to embroider elaborate, colorful motifs. This stage usually lasts about a month. Once completed, the brocade fabrics will be hand-sewn into traditional costumes.

Ms. Sung Y Mua, Hang Kia commune proudly introduced: To make a traditional costume, H'Mong women need a lot of time and effort, requiring both skill and patience. All stages must be done manually from growing flax, harvesting; peeling, pounding, spinning, cooking the fibers to setting up the weaving frame to create brocade. Each pattern represents the noble aspirations and unique cultural identity of the H'Mong people.

Previously, the brocade fabric of the H'Mong ethnic group in Hang Kia, Pa Co was mainly used to make clothes for daily life. However, with the exchange and development, many products have become commodities to serve domestic and international tourists .

Notably, since 2015, the H'Mong ethnic people in the two communes have built traditional brocade weaving villages. Currently, in Hang Kia and Pa Co, hundreds of weaving looms are still preserved and maintained in operation. Many people have invested in dozens of industrial sewing machines to produce brocade fabric items.

Vang Y Danh, Hang Kia commune boldly borrowed capital to buy 7 industrial sewing machines to produce brocade products. Meanwhile, Ms. Sung Y Mua has brought brocade products to friends and domestic and foreign tourists through her tourism promotion and development activities. Brocade products not only serve the daily needs of the community but also bring significant income to people in Hang Kia, Pa Co.

In recent years, thanks to the investment of the State, the road to the two communes is quite convenient, so the trade and sale of goods is also much easier, especially creating conditions for people to bring brocade weaving products far and wide. Gradually exploiting the advantages of tourism, Hang Kia, Pa Co is becoming an attractive destination for domestic and international tourists.

Along with building suitable agricultural production models, the development of community tourism activities has also been effectively implemented. Thanks to the obvious changes in ensuring and maintaining security and order, the number of tourists coming to Hang Kia and Pa Co has increased over time, gradually opening up an effective direction for local people to increase their income and improve the socio -economic situation.

The development of tourism has changed the way of thinking and doing of the people of the two communes. They have paid attention to preserving the traditional cultural identity of the nation and collecting and restoring some cultural features, activities and beliefs that had been lost to promote and attract tourists to visit.

Hang Kia and Pa Co are two communes in the highlands and mountainous areas; agricultural land is limited and scattered, causing difficulties in organizing production, applying scientific advances as well as developing commodity production... The poverty rate of the two communes is still high compared to the average of the district and the province. Based on that reality, in 2021, the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province approved the Project on socio-economic development of the H'Mong ethnic minority in the two communes of Hang Kia and Pa Co for the period 2021-2025. This is considered an important driving force to promote socio-economic development, improving the lives of ethnic minorities in Hang Kia and Pa Co.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phu-nu-hmong-gan-nghe-det-tho-cam-voi-phat-trien-du-lich-post871016.html