An artisan in making embroidered paintings in Thuong Tin district of Hanoi (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Despite facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic,craft villages in Hanoi have managed to balance between maintaining productionand preservation of traditional values.
With 1,350 craft villages, Hanoi boasts the most traditional craft villages andmost talented artisans in Vietnam.
Ha Thai lacquer village in Duyen Thai commune in Hanoi’s outlying district ofThuong Tin is a typical example.
It has more than 300 households engaged in the craft with over 1,500 labourers.
Lacquer products of Ha Thai village have been known for their high quality anddurable thanks to the skilful and creativeness of craftsmen.
They do not only have a foothold in the domestic market but also export to theworld markets such as France, the United States and Spain, accounting for 60percent of the total products of the village.
Do Trong Doan, a local artisan, said they encountered many difficulties due tobad sales of lacquer products.
He attributed it to the fact that the quality of human resources was not high.
The low competitiveness in the international market and unstable of materialsupply were also problems. However, local households have still strived toovercome challenges, seeking relevant sales model and maintain production inthis difficult condition.
A similar situation was also reported in other traditional craft villages.
Pham Khac Ha, Chairman of the Van Phuc Silk Weaving Village Association in Ha Dong district said, given the complicated developments of COVID-19, pandemicprevention and control along with resuming production and trade are bigchallenges for craft villages.
Somebusinesses and production facilities have started selling their products onsocial networks and obtaining encouraging results, he said.
Many establishments have also taken part in domestic exhibitions and fairs toexploit the consumption market and capture the tastes of customers.
Attention has been paid to creating patterns and types of products to makethem more attractive, Ha said.
Realisingthe shortcomings of craft villages, the Hanoi Handicraft and Craft villageAssociation has supported its members participating in the programme to consultand design new handicraft products to develop the domestic market and for export.
Vocational and business administration training programme related to craftvillages were also offered to the members to help them have more skills andideas to produce new products which meet the market demand. Thus, they canimprove their knowledge of corporate governance, research and apply newtechnology to save input costs and raise the competitiveness and value for theproducts.
Preservation oftraditional values
Craft villages in Hanoi haven't only overcome difficulty to develop productionbut also concentrated on promoting their traditional values.
Hoang Quoc Chinh, Chairman of the Da Sy Craft Village Association in Ha Dong district, said he was so proud of a long history of blacksmithing in thevillage.
Theforging of tools have been happening in Da Sy village since the end of the 16thcentury.
Experiencingmany ups and downs of the trade and associating with the struggle for nationalliberation, Da Sy forging village is constantly developing and playing an important role in locals’ life.
Furthermore, the village has become a national relic. During a visit to Da Sy village, tourists do not only to learn about traditional craft, but also maketheir own products. Therefore, Ha Dong authorities have createdfavourable conditions for its production and business activities in order topreserve and bring into play the traditional craft in the 2020-2025 period.
In Van Phuc silk village, local authorities have encouraged artisans to alignwith tourist companies to bring visitors back to the craft village.
Ha Thi Vinh, chairwoman of the Hanoi Handicraft and Craft Village Association,suggested that Hanoi authorities facilitate the sustainable development ofcraft villages by creating favourable conditions for the young generation toattach long-term commitment to the profession and preserving cultural identityin their own homeland.
Schools and vocational training centres should be encouraged to compileseparate textbooks for students on product design and professional skills foreach type of products.
It is necessary for the city to launch a movement to motivateyoung people to join vocational training for the development of localprofession, Vinh said, adding that it is one of the effective solutions topreserve traditional craft./.
