But above all, the activities of a craft village are economic activities. And economic laws do not depend on the subjective will of human beings.
A century of ups and downs
As a child, I was familiar with the lively sounds on the river in my hometown after sunset. Every day, as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, a peaceful stretch of river would become unusually vibrant.
Dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of villagers would flock to the riverbank, laden with rudimentary fishing tools such as baskets, traps, nets, and other fishing gear. The sounds of voices, laughter, and the clanging of tools against the water's surface echoed along the river.
The bamboo weaving village of Xóm Bàu (Duy Thành commune, Duy Xuyên district) was famous throughout the region back then. Almost everyone, young and old, men and women, participated in the various stages of producing the village's products.
Everything is made from bamboo: from everyday household items to tools for labor, production, and fishing; and hundreds of products from the village are distributed far and wide.
The ongoing rural development program and the increasingly vibrant process of economic integration and development are taking place alongside the decline and decay of the bamboo weaving craft in Xóm Bàu. In my village and many other rural areas, the rows of bamboo are gradually becoming sparse.
The elderly expressed regret, wishing to keep a few clumps of bamboo in their gardens so they could use them as binding strips when they died, but ultimately they couldn't. Over time, the "burial" no longer needed bamboo strips, just as children no longer needed bamboo cradles...
In early 1990, I had my graduation internship at Kim Bong wood carving village (Hoi An). Although the process of modernization had only begun a few years prior, the elderly artisans of the village expressed concern about the lack of a successor generation for a craft village that had been famous for hundreds of years.
"Now the young people have so much to do, there will come a time when no one will follow in their fathers' footsteps anymore," a veteran craftsman lamented.
Duy Vinh's sedge mat weaving; Van Ha's carpentry; Xom Bau and Tam Vinh's bamboo weaving; Duy Trinh's silk reeling and weaving;… and countless other famous traditional craft villages throughout Quang Nam province have faded away, disappeared, or are slowly dying out?
Keeping the "flame" alive and developing traditional craft villages.
The diversity in the origins of its inhabitants, along with advancements in economics, technology, culture, exchange, and integration, has made Quang Nam famous as the "land of a hundred crafts." This is a source of pride, a valuable cultural asset, and an important material foundation for Quang Nam to continue its journey of industrialization and integration.
Numerous plans, projects, and efforts have been undertaken by various levels of government, sectors, localities, and the people to restore, maintain, and develop traditional craft villages.
But first and foremost, the birth, existence, development, or demise of traditional craft products is always closely linked to the transformation of socio-economic life and human civilization. As international integration and exchange expand, the opportunities and challenges for each craft village become even greater.
The exhibition halls showcasing traditional bronze casting products from Dien Phuong village and many similar "houses" in other craft villages in the province, built decades ago and each costing hundreds of millions of dong, have become deserted for many years.
Many of the machinery and equipment invested in Duy Vinh sedge mat weaving village and Nam Phuoc weaving village are no longer useful. Furthermore, despite various other forms of support aimed at restoring and developing traditional crafts in localities, many villages have failed to survive.
Recently, many opinions have continued to call for support for craft villages in terms of preferential loans, trademark registration, product advertising, and especially investment in equipment and technological innovation to increase production capacity and competitiveness in the market.
The reason is that the producers in craft villages (cooperatives, individual producers) are all small and micro-enterprises, so they need a lot of support. Is this right and necessary for all craft villages?
The answer should probably begin with market signals and the cultural values embedded in each product of traditional crafts and villages. Fundamentally, the existence and development of each craft village is different. It depends on the unique input factors of each village (production materials, skill level, cultural identity).
In particular, the output of most traditional craft villages targets niche markets, not mass markets like industrial goods. Therefore, not all craft villages need to invest in the same ways.
It is also inadvisable to force investment into craft villages whose products no longer have any reason to exist in the market. Even less necessary are investment projects that support craft villages in a hasty, superficial, subjective, and uniform manner.
Epilogue…
At the end of the year, while strolling through the spring fair at the Provincial Cultural Center, I happened to meet a descendant of the Kim Bong carpentry village. A young man showcased his unique, handcrafted, artistic wooden products. “I’m still following the carpentry trade of my ancestors, but my products are one-of-a-kind and cater to a niche market. Even so, there’s still demand,” the young man proudly stated.
The craft of bamboo weaving in many villages of Quang Nam province has either declined or is struggling, but many bamboo weavers in Cam Thanh village (Hoi An) are still making a good living from handicrafts made from bamboo, or from the increasing number of hotels and restaurants springing up in Hoi An, Da Nang, and other places.
Further north, in the ancient village of Loc Yen (Tien Phuoc), a completely new and unique craft village has recently emerged – the production of household products from… areca palm sheaths!
I recall that more than ten years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a traditional silk production factory in Hangzhou (China).
Despite being just a small workshop with a few dozen workers, the story of its origins, development history, and the production process is surprisingly vividly and engagingly recreated through numerous visual images here.
As a result, each tourist in the group, before leaving, had a few items in their hands, even though they knew they were very expensive compared to similar products on the market manufactured in industrial factories.
And in this age of electronics and digital technology, in the land of Swiss watches, craftsmen still diligently and meticulously create timepieces that sell for tens of thousands of dollars.
In a way, traditional villages and crafts always have their own unique path…
The issue is how we approach, encourage, and even avoid clinging to something.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/tu-duy-lang-nghe-thoi-hoi-nhap-3141108.html
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