Experiential tourism in Noi village

(Baonghean) - After decades of decline, the clay pot craft village in Tru Son commune (Do Luong) is gradually recovering, with the contribution of experiential tourism activities.

On the last Sunday of April, the atmosphere in Noi village seemed more jubilant, with many small cars parked along the village road. The house of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong in Hamlet 11 was as joyful as a wedding. In the middle of the yard, many artisans in the village were “performing” and instructing visitors on how to make clay pots.

Soft, smooth blocks of clay, through the skillful hands of mothers and grandmothers, along with simple tools such as a turntable, a piece of cloth, a bamboo ring, pots, pans, kettles, jars... appear one after another to the surprise of many people. Dozens of people surrounded the artisans, attentively watching each movement of rolling, spreading the clay, and pushing the turntable.

After watching, they can try their hand at making pots, vases, basins... depending on their preferences. The children are the most enthusiastic, rushing straight to the clay blocks, practicing turning the table, making shapes of birds, bowls and plates and writing their names on them...

The artisans are willing to help and correct the children so that they can make their own products. Ms. Hong’s yard has become a place to practice the ancient craft of making clay pots, attracting many “students” of all ages to participate.

Craft artisans complete products. Photo: Huy Thu

On days when a tourist group comes to experience the craft of making clay pots, the pot village is bustling like that. From artisans to visitors, everyone is excited and enthusiastic.

The pot village artisans are excited because after decades of the production of clay pots falling into a state of "letting go and leave it to anyone", now suddenly it is bustling again, the products sell better, and many people come to visit and learn. Visitors from everywhere come to the Pot Village, curious and interested in the traditional way of making clay pots, which they can now see with their own eyes, touch with their own hands, and especially roll up their sleeves to make pots with the villagers.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong excitedly said: “Since March, dozens of large and small groups have come to visit the village. There was a group with nearly 20 cars, over 80 people, standing and watching, filling up my yard. They even stayed, used clay pots to cook rice, braise fish, boil vegetables, and happily ate and drank. This is truly the first time in Noi village that this has happened.”

Mr. Le Xuan Tho - Vice Chairman of Tru Son Commune People's Committee said that currently in the commune there are 4 hamlets (10, 11, 12, 13) with more than 60 households still maintaining the profession of making clay pots, both professionally and seasonally. 2 hamlets (10; 11) in Thuong Giap village used to be the center of the clay pot profession in Tru Son, now there are about 35 households doing the profession, hamlet 11 alone has nearly 20 households.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, the village chief of village 11, in the past, almost every household in the village made clay pots. Since the 1980s, the profession has fallen into crisis, no one bought the products they made, the products were not sold enough to buy rice to eat, many households gave up the profession. In the past 5 years, along with the development of the socio-economy, the market demand for clay pots has increased, making the clay pot profession in Tru Son gradually flourish.

However, due to market demand, the products have also changed. In the past, people mainly made large pots for cooking, roasting, stewing... and transported them on carts to sell throughout the villages. Now they have switched to making small products such as small pots, medium pots, medicine pots, orchid pots, clay pots... to import to traders, restaurants, hotels, pharmacies... in and outside the province.

Along with the process of production recovery, experiential tourism and learning activities in the craft village have begun. In previous years, only a few people occasionally came to visit and take photos in the craft village, but now there are many groups, associations and groups coming to the craft village through many different ways such as connecting tours of travel agencies, stopping points of backpacking groups... They come to experience real life, live and work with the people, including foreign groups.

It is known that before a group of visitors came to visit, the villagers had prepared all the materials, assigned artisans to serve, and organized the venue... On crowded days, the hamlet had to mobilize the houses of the artisans, the hamlet's cultural house, and the historical site of Hoi Thien temple to serve.

Children visiting the craft village are excited about their products. Photo: Huy Thu

For many years, people who only knew how to diligently mold, peel, cook... to make products that meet the tastes of consumers, now the people working in Tru Son have a new mission: "performing" to guide tourists. That also makes the artisans feel awkward and clumsy in their actions and gestures when interacting. However, what tourists feel very clearly is the enthusiasm and openness of the people.

Ms. Phan Thanh Dung (33 years old) - a lecturer at Nghe An Pedagogical College and her children who had a practical experience in Noi village said: "Our group went quite large, about 80 people, when we arrived at Noi village, the locals here welcomed us happily, creating all conditions for the children to practice. A handicraft village but brings many interesting things, especially for the children". With the same feeling, Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Diu (35 years old) - a cultural officer of Thanh Chuong town) shared: "Visiting Noi village is a very new experience, when you come here, you will not want to go home, if the locality knows how to invest in tourism, it will be very popular".

Experiential tourism in Noi village is a completely spontaneous activity, so everything is still "simple" and "rustic" as the local people say. An activity on the sidelines of production, not bringing much income to the people but bringing a new breeze to this peaceful countryside.

Mr. Le Xuan Thong - Secretary of Tru Son Commune Youth Union said: “The Youth Union has consulted with the Party Committee and the commune government on promoting tourism activities in Noi village. In the near future, the Commune Youth Union will preside over the activity of teaching the craft of making pots to the youth of the two central Youth Unions of the village, thereby supporting the artisans in experiential tours. In addition, it will guide and suggest to the youth of the craft village to set up a website and Facebook to promote the products and images of their hometown online. Teaching the craft of making clay pots to local students will also be promoted by the Youth Union and schools”.

With the efforts of the staff and people here, hopefully Noi village in Tru Son will soon become an attractive destination for tourists from all over the world on their journey to explore Nghe An.

Huy Thu