'Spread wings' to bring brocade far and wide

Born in the "cradle" of traditional brocade of the Thai people in Nghe An, Hoa Tien village, Chau Tien commune, districtQuy Chau, the girl Sam Thi Tinh grew up with looms, dyed fabrics, and sophisticated weaving. Living among brocade, loving brocade to the core, Tinh always worried about how to bring her hometown's traditional brocade to many markets, create sustainable output as well as maintain a stable income for the people.

Girl Sam Thi Tinh is passionate about her hometown's brocade weaving craft. Photo: QA

That dream followed Tinh since her student days at the College of Radio and Television in Hanoi. At that time, every time she went from her hometown to the city, the Thai girl always prepared embroidery items in her suitcase to bring along. Tinh had a habit of embroidering in her free time. The elaborate and sophisticated patterns that appeared under the skillful hands of the Thai girl made many people excited. Recognizing Tinh's talent, at that time, many people in Hanoi hired Tinh to embroider clothes and Tinh took advantage of this great opportunity to both work and introduce the traditional craft as well as brocade products of her hometown.

After graduating, Tinh decided not to pursue the career he had studied but to return to his hometown to start a business, fulfilling his long-standing dream. At first, production and business faced many difficulties due to small scale, lack of connection, unstable consumer market, unestablished brand... To diversify products, suitable for consumer tastes, in addition to traditional dresses and shirts, Tinh also oriented people to weave and embroider handbags, clutches, shoes, sandals, stuffed animals, pillowcases, scarves, tablecloths...

Tinh always actively participates in fairs and supply-demand connection programs to introduce his hometown products. Photo: QA

Realizing the development of social networks, instead of producing and waiting for tourists to buy brocade like before, Tinh boldly took the lead in promoting products on platforms such as Facebook, Zalo, Tiktok, e-commerce platforms... Every time he dyed fabric or embroidered, Tinh took the opportunity to livestream so that friends everywhere could directly follow closely. This is considered a turning point in bringing brocade products closer to customers, and the consumption of the products has also gradually increased compared to the time when the new sales method had not been applied.

Not stopping there, when there are fairs connecting supply and demand, exhibitions on brocade, ethnic costumes, Tinh proactively asks to participate, introducing Hoa Tien brocade products at exhibitions abroad such as Malaysia, Laos... "Last year, I brought my hometown brocade products to Malaysia to promote, introduce, and approach the Southeast Asian Textile Association, the Malaysian Museum... There were units that were very satisfied after seeing the products and placed orders, and at the same time committed to connecting for long-term cooperation, which made me very touched." - Tinh shared.

Ms. Tinh always promotes and introduces her hometown brocade to international friends. Photo: QA

Thanks to tireless efforts and proactive adaptation to the digital age, Hoa Tien brocade products have gradually appeared in many domestic and international markets such as Germany, France, Malaysia, Spain, Laos... In addition, Tinh also opened a weaving, embroidery and natural dyeing shop in Hanoi to widely promote the local traditional brocade craft to tourists who want to explore.

Sam Thi Tinh shared: My biggest wish is that the local brocade craft will be known to more people, so that it can create jobs and stable income for the people. In addition, if the craft village develops stably, it will contribute to keeping children in the countryside to preserve and maintain the traditional craft of their ancestors, because nowadays, many young people have left their hometowns, and most of the people doing the craft are middle-aged and elderly...

International tourists are excited about Hoa Tien brocade in Quy Chau district. Photo: QA

Sam Thi Tinh is a typical example in the locality in promoting products, bringing the beauty of the Thai people in Quy Chau to friends. Besides introducing products, every year, Tinh leads domestic and foreign groups back to Hoa Tien village to experience brocade weaving, enjoy cuisine as well as visit the beauty of her homeland. This has helped Chau Tien land become more and more known, the attraction of experiential tourism is enhanced.

Mr. Sam Thanh Hoai - Chairman of Chau Tien Commune People's Committee