Visiting the craft village that 'transforms' clay into 'talking' animals on the eve of Tet

TPO – The traditional piggy bank making village in Binh Duong, with a history spanning over half a century, is bustling with activity in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of 2025, as artisans meticulously decorate and breathe life into blocks of clay…

TPO – The traditional piggy bank making village in Binh Duong, with a history spanning over half a century, is bustling with activity in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of 2025, as artisans meticulously decorate and breathe life into blocks of clay…

The piggy bank craft village in Lai Thieu (Thuan An city, Binh Duong province) was established more than half a century ago. To this day, although the number of households practicing the craft has decreased, the traditional beauty of the village remains intact. Those who still cling to the craft continue to diligently make piggy banks.

Using readily available clay and skillful hands, artisans have created adorable and whimsical piggy banks, dragons, goldfish, Doraemon, swans, pigeons, buffaloes, and more – toys that are closely associated with the childhood of countless generations.

The process of producing clay piggy banks involves many stages, with many households participating. Some households specialize in supplying the clay raw materials, others handle the shaping and firing of the pigs, and finally, some households do the decorating and finishing of the product.

According to Mr. Truong Long, a seasoned artisan producing clay piggy banks in Lai Thieu ward, to transform a lump of clay into the shape of "speaking" animals, the sculptor must have a message. Some animals must follow a mold, but depending on the aesthetic sense of each artisan, they can create products with unique and distinctive characteristics.

According to Mr. Long, in order to promptly deliver large orders to customers in the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta provinces, his family has accelerated production in recent days, while still ensuring quality to maintain their reputation.

Ms. Phuong Lan, a representative of a piggy bank production facility in Lai Thieu ward, said that a raw product costs about 20,000 to 30,000 VND depending on the type. After polishing and beautifying, the product is sold for 50,000 to 100,000 VND per item. Although the price difference doubles, the profit is very modest because of labor costs, transportation, painting, etc.

Transforming lumps of clay into objects with "soul" requires the skillful hands of an artisan.

The finished piggy banks are placed in plastic bags.

According to Mr. Trung Tam, an artisan and owner of a long-standing traditional piggy bank workshop in Lai Thieu ward, although piggy banks are the main product, workshops always try to create different mascots for each year. Creating a mascot for the year is not difficult, but making it appealing enough for people to buy and place in their homes is not simple at all, requiring high aesthetic standards in every detail.

According to Mr. Tam, the owner of a piggy bank production facility in Lai Thieu craft village, the main difficulty for traditional craft villages is the scarcity of clay. Traditional production requires burning wood in kilns, which inevitably causes environmental pollution. Therefore, production facilities have to constantly move their kilns out of urban areas.

"Local authorities provide loan support for the development and preservation of traditional crafts, and support in building brands so that traditional products can reach a wider market," Mr. Tam said.

The piggy banks are carefully placed into a plastic sealing machine.

The finished piggy banks are loaded onto a vehicle for transport to the business premises.

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year 2025, households making piggy banks are bustling with activity, busy to ensure timely supply of products to the market.

Huong Chi

Source: https://tienphong.vn/ve-lang-nghe-bien-dat-set-thanh-nhung-con-vat-biet-noi-ngay-giap-tet-post1707224.tpo