Finding a direction for Lam Son driftwood craft village

The craft village of driftwood and ornamental stone carving in Doan Ket hamlet, Luong Son commune, at its peak had 40 production facilities with over 100 workers. However, currently, the craft village has less than 10 facilities that are still operating at a low level. What direction can the craft village take to return to its golden age?

At the Anh Duc fine art furniture facility in Doan Ket hamlet, there are no customers. Products such as wooden tables and chairs, statues of the God of Wealth, sculptures... are all covered with a thick layer of dust. Since the beginning of the year, the market has been sluggish, so the owner of the facility has temporarily stopped production to focus on selling remaining inventory. Currently, in the factory area of about 200 square ^meters, products are being sold with prices ranging from 3 to 10 million VND, of which some items with high value and aesthetics are up to over 100 million VND.

Mr. Bach Van Duc (left), owner of Anh Duc fine art wooden furniture establishment in Doan Ket hamlet, introduces to customers fine art products made from driftwood.

Mr. Bach Van Duc, the owner of the facility, worried: “About 3-4 years ago, the facility could earn an average of 70-80 million VND per month. Now, sales are very slow, especially since the beginning of the year, no products have been sold. The facility was forced to temporarily stop production and cut staff to save costs. For the people of Doan Ket hamlet, making driftwood is not simply a “bread and butter” job but also a passion and joy in life. Therefore, when I saw production facilities in the area closing down, I told myself to try to maintain, preserve and develop the craft village.”

The craft of making driftwood and ornamental stones has been present in Lam Son commune since 1994, mainly concentrated in Doan Ket hamlet. However, in the past 2 years, the products have encountered difficulties in finding a way to sell their products. The main reason is determined to be the competition from industrial products and imported goods with diverse designs and types, which have changed consumer trends. Along with that, local raw materials are increasingly scarce, causing production costs to increase. Meanwhile, product promotion and introduction have not been given due attention to attract consumers' attention. In particular, in the context of economic difficulties, driftwood products are not considered essential goods, so consumers hesitate when deciding to buy.

Resolving difficulties in product output to “revive” the craft village of making driftwood and ornamental stones in Doan Ket hamlet is a challenge for local authorities and production and business establishments. Through practical research, it is shown that when the Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh route was opened, the number of people and vehicles traveling on National Highway 6 through the commune decreased significantly. In addition, local products are slow to improve in design and lack diversity to attract consumers.

In addition, to have unique handicraft products with high quality value, both as goods and as art products, artisans must be experienced, observant and aesthetic. However, the reality at driftwood processing facilities in the area shows a shortage of experienced and skilled artisans, instead, there is a workforce trained right at the facility. This leads to the quality, creativity and aesthetics of the products not meeting market requirements.

Doan Ket Hamlet - the cradle of driftwood craft village now has only a few effective production facilities.

Comrade Nguyen Anh Duc, Chairman of the People's Committee of Luong Son Commune, said: To restore the driftwood craft village of Doan Ket hamlet, first of all, each production facility must research and invest in modern equipment and technology, attract skilled workers to improve quality and design but also reduce product costs. Production facilities also need to pay attention and invest in introducing and promoting products on trading floors, electronic information pages, social networks... so that a large number of consumers know about the products. In the coming time, the local government will also pay attention to building a driftwood product brand for Doan Ket hamlet. At the same time, strengthen trade promotion activities, product advertising, and actively connect to find output for products.

Duc Anh

Source: https://baophutho.vn/tim-huong-di-cho-lang-nghe-go-lua-lam-son-236689.htm