Concerns from the Minh Duc carpentry village

The woodworking craft in Minh Duc village, Thanh Uyen commune, Hien Quan district, has a long history and was officially recognized as a craft village by the Provincial People's Committee in 2004. The village produces a diverse range of products such as beds, wardrobes, tables, chairs, door frames, and altars, all crafted to be durable and aesthetically pleasing, meeting the needs of the local people and generating significant income. However, despite the current trend of craft village development, the people of Minh Duc still have some concerns.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Van Tung in Zone 2 invested in modern machinery for the production of household wooden furniture, earning a profit of approximately 400 million VND per year after deducting expenses.

The Minh Duc carpentry village currently has 76 households involved in woodworking production, mainly concentrated in Zone 2, with hundreds of workers regularly participating in production. Each year, the village supplies tens of thousands of products to the market, providing a stable income for the people, averaging 300-400 million VND per household per year. Thanks to this traditional craft, many families have become well-off, built spacious houses, and have the means to invest in their children's education.

We visited the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Tung in Zone 2, where he and his wife, along with three workers, were diligently carrying out each stage of production. Owning two workshops with an area of ​​nearly 400 square meters, his family supplies thousands of products to consumers in the province each year, mainly altars, religious artifacts, tables, chairs, and benches. With 10 years of experience in the craft, the wooden household products produced by his workshop are guaranteed to be of high quality and aesthetically pleasing. Mr. Tung shared: “Previously, wooden furniture production was mainly done manually, with little machine support. But with the increasingly demanding requirements of customers needing products that are fast, beautiful, and durable, I invested in a CNC carving machine to shorten the product completion time. After deducting expenses, my family earns a profit of about 400 million VND per year.”

Each product requires 5-7 coats of paint to complete, which can negatively impact the health of those working in the trade.

Besides the economic benefits, the villagers in the craft village also have some concerns: the deteriorating transportation system and environmental pollution. Walking around the village, we noticed the congestion caused by vehicles stopping to transport goods, which somewhat affects the movement and travel of the residents. Ms. Quan Thi Thuy, a household in the craft village, shared: “For the past 8 years, my family has specialized in painting products for the craft village, so the transportation needs are very high. However, the roads in the village are narrow, the surface is damaged and peeling, and there is no drainage system. Every time my family transports wood out, it usually takes a lot of time and money. If the roads were upgraded, the work would be much easier.” The deteriorating road conditions not only affect production but also pose a potential risk of accidents for people traveling.

The development of the craft village has also led to air pollution stemming from the production processes. Sawing, cutting, and sanding wood generates a large amount of fine dust, directly affecting the health of the workers and neighboring households. Noise from machinery, along with the smell of paint and varnish, spreads into the residential area, impacting the daily lives of nearby residents. Recognizing these shortcomings, Mr. Nguyen Van Liu, head of the Minh Duc carpentry village, has repeatedly petitioned the local government for the allocation of a separate area for the craft villages to concentrate their activities. “If we had a centralized production area, we could invest in a system to treat dust, noise, and wastewater, both protecting the environment and improving production efficiency. The surrounding residents would not be affected, and the craft village would develop more sustainably,” Mr. Liu shared.

The narrow and dilapidated roads in the craft villages need investment, renovation, and expansion to promote the development of the craft villages.

Along with solutions regarding production space, upgrading transportation infrastructure is also an urgent requirement. Expanding rural roads and repairing damaged road surfaces will help reduce traffic congestion, save transportation costs, and ensure safety for residents. According to information from the People's Committee of Hien Quan commune, in October 2025, the People's Committee will implement the construction of a project to renovate and upgrade rural roads in Zone 2 with a total length of over 1.1 km to complete the rural transportation infrastructure, ensuring convenience for travel and production, promoting local socio-economic development, and improving the lives of the people. A positive sign is that immediately after the plan to expand and upgrade the road around the craft village was announced, all residents in the area unanimously agreed to donate land for road widening.

The Minh Duc carpentry village is at a crucial crossroads: between immediate economic benefits and long-term responsibility for environmental protection and public health. If solutions are implemented comprehensively, the village will continue to develop, create jobs, and improve the lives of its people. This current dilemma presents an opportunity for the locality to innovate and modernize while preserving the long-standing traditional values ​​of carpentry, thus establishing the Minh Duc carpentry village brand in the market.

Hong Nhung

Source: https://baophutho.vn/tran-tro-tu-lang-nghe-moc-minh-duc-240758.htm