New direction for brocade weaving in Nua village

(Baonghean) - The brocade weaving profession in Nua village (Yen Khe, Con Cuong) has gone through many ups and downs. However, with determination and efforts to preserve the traditional craft, from 2007 to now, the weaving profession of the village has had a new direction. In particular, the villagers have also combined the strengths of community tourism with craft village tourism.

As one of the villages with natural advantages when located next to Moc stream, Khe Kem, Pu Mat National Park... Nua village is considered a highlight in the "green paradise" of Con Cuong district. This place still preserves many unique cultural features of the Thai people with many ancient stilt houses, special dishes and folk music - ethnic musical instrument clubs organized and actively operated by the people. Traditional crafts such as bamboo and rattan weaving, brocade weaving... are increasingly developing. In particular, after the Western Biosphere Reserve of the province was recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve in September 2007, more and more tourists from all over the country came here. Thanks to that, Nua village has gradually become an attractive community tourism destination. Tourist groups coming here often visit the brocade weaving profession of the people and buy products as souvenirs.

Ms. Luong Thi On and her sisters in Nua village complete brocade weaving products.

In 2007 and 2013, the district implemented the Project "Preserving, maintaining and promoting the cultural identity of the Thai ethnic group" with the goal of preserving cultural identity values, contributing to the socio-economic development of the locality; the content includes many items, including the goal of restoring traditional occupations. This is an important premise to revive the traditional occupations of the Thai people here. In June 2011, Pu Mat National Park signed an agreement with UNESCO to implement the Project "Building a community tourism model on the Bong Khe - Yen Khe - Luc Da - Mon Son route in Con Cuong district" with the goal of preserving the cultural identity of the ethnic communities, while increasing income for local people. Therefore, people are more active in learning and improving their skills so that tourists from near and far can visit and consume the products they make.

As one of the skilled women in the village, Ms. Luong Thi On creates unique patterns and motifs to enhance the aesthetics of textile products. When we arrived at her house, she was still working hard at the loom. During a break, she shared: “In the past, in the dyeing stage, the villagers often used roots, tubers, fruits and tree trunks in the forest as raw materials. In addition to black and brown, which are two colors that are easy to dye from indigo, yellow and red are two difficult colors, taken from forest trees deep in the caves that are very difficult to find. The bark and fruit are crushed, boiled, allowed to settle and then condensed to make dye. From those four main colors, suitable colors are mixed.

Nowadays, tourists demand new designs, new motifs and patterns, so weavers have to change a lot to be able to consume their products more widely. After visiting and learning from localities in and outside the province, people have created new designs and new ways of making. People buy colored yarn from Laos to ensure the quality of the products. All the looms in the village are used to their maximum capacity. When tourist groups come to visit, many people also want to learn a few weaving lines... Therefore, the weaving profession and the products made are appreciated by many tourists.

Mr. Le Van Dau, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, shared: The commune is very interested in traditional craft villages, so it has promoted the preservation and promotion of brocade weaving. Nua village has 152 households, of which more than 60 households are still faithful to the craft. From 2011 to now, Ms. Lo Thi Hoa's family and Mr. Lo Dinh Nhuong's family are two accommodation places that have welcomed many domestic and international tourist groups when they come to visit Nua village. There are groups with a large number of guests, nearly 50 people. Besides enjoying local dishes and folk songs, xoe dance, fan dance, lam vong dance of the Thai people, visiting the weaving village is also an interesting experience for many people. To improve the skills of the people, many training courses have been opened. Most recently, in July, the village opened a brocade weaving course, improving and improving products according to new designs. The class had the participation of 60 students who are members of the Women's Union of Nua village, taught by the Hai Van Brocade Weaving Cooperative. Now the women can weave many products including skirts, belts, scarves, bags with many new patterns and designs, combining tradition with modernity, suitable for market needs.

At the recent Party Congress of Con Cuong district, tourism was identified as a key industry in the near future. Accordingly, the district focuses on developing eco-cultural tourism and community tourism associated with traditional craft villages. By 2020, when the eco-tourism area of ​​famous landscapes, historical relics and traditional cultures is completed, the number of tourists will reach 95,000 people and the revenue will reach over 50 - 60 billion VND. These are important foundations for Nua village and other villages of Con Cuong district to have conditions to develop traditional occupations, exploit the potential of community tourism, increase income and improve life.

Thanh Quynh