HCM City to develop traditional craft villages

Nine traditional craft villages in Ho Chi Minh City will be preserved and developed under a city programme that will last until 2015.
Nine traditional craft villages in Ho Chi Minh City will bepreserved and developed under a city programme that will last until2015.

The assessment made for the programme is that four of themdo not have capability to develop on their own and needs governmentsupport.

They are Thai My village that makes bamboo baskets andfurniture in Cu Chi District, Xuan Thoi Son in Hoc Mon District whichproduces bamboo baskets, incense-making Le Minh Xuan in Binh ChanhDistrict, and salt making Ly Son village in Can Gio District.

Fourothers which can develop independently and sustainably are Xuan An Locflower and ornamental tree village in District 12, Thu Duc flower andornamental tree village in Thu Duc District, Tan Thong Hoi in Cu ChiDistrict that produces bamboo screens, and rice paper making Phu HoaDong also in Cu Chi.

One village is planned to be built on an areaof 10-15ha in the Cu Chi Plant Garden along the Dong Canal tobreed ornamental fish and offer tourism services.

The programme also aims at environmental protection and promoting traditional values.

The city government will help the villages develop infrastructure,train human resources, and use technology for production and protectingthe environment.

The villages will also be provided with assistance in researching and promoting markets at home and abroad.

The city has solicited investment from all sources for preserving the villages, especially those are tourism attractions.

The city has 19 craft villages that employ 14,241 people earning anaverage of 38.9 million VND (1,800 USD) a year, according to theSub-department of Rural Development. Some salt and rice paper producingvillages hire up to 60 percent of the local workforce.

But thedevelopment of the city's craft villages remains unplanned and theycontinue to use backward technologies and equipment. More than 80percent of craftsmen do not have the resources to improve thetechnologies they use or expand production.

The designs and packaging of products made in these villages lack sophistication, affecting their competitiveness.

Almost 70 per cent of the heads of households making the products lackformal training and managerial skills. Only 2.6 percent of them have auniversity degree.

The villages have also failed to tackle the pollution they cause.-VNA

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