To develop traditional craft villages sustainably.

(Baonghean)Currently, Do Luong has several traditional craft villages with increasingly high production values, attracting many workers and contributing to job creation and increased income for over 1,000 laborers. However, much work remains to be done to ensure the development and preservation of these craft villages.

Diverse traditional craft villages

Visiting the traditional rice cracker and peanut candy making village of Vinh Duc, Block 10, Do Luong Town, on a spring day, the atmosphere is bustling and urgent. Block 10 currently has over 100 households engaged in rice cracker and peanut candy making, of which 60 operate on a large scale, employing workers and investing in modern machinery for production. Thanks to this, the village's income contributes over 20% of the town's total income, providing employment for 60 permanent workers and over 40 seasonal workers.

The bamboo weaving village of Bot Da in Da Son commune is bustling at this time of year. The bamboo used in this craft is mainly sourced from the Youth Volunteer Brigade 2 in Thanh Chuong. The main market is in the northern provinces, where it is used to cover rough bricks in brick kilns. The development of this craft village has created jobs for hundreds of local workers, with an average income of 100,000 VND per person per day.



Residents of Hamlet 1, Trung Son Commune, are beginning to explore the export-oriented rattan and bamboo weaving industry.

When talking about traditional craft villages in Do Luong district, one cannot fail to mention the pottery village in Tru Son. Every year, after the harvest season, the villagers roll up their sleeves and start making pottery to supplement their income and maintain the traditional craft of their ancestors. Skilled craftsmen can make about 20 pots in a single session. The income is just enough to cover daily expenses.

Besides the aforementioned craft villages, Do Luong also has many other famous craft villages such as rattan and bamboo weaving in Trung Son; noodle, cake, and carpentry in Tan Son; and silkworm farming in Dang Son,... which also contribute to the diversity of craft villages in the area.

To "preserve" the craft

Mr. Vo Van Ngoc, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Luong District, said: The production value of craft villages accounts for about 30% of the total industrial and handicraft production value of the entire district. However, in reality, some craft villages still face many difficulties. According to the people of the pottery village in Tru Son, because it is a secondary occupation, pottery here is also made seasonally. Every year, after the harvest season, people roll up their sleeves and make pottery. There are also households that work year-round, but the quantity is not large. On average, they only work for 5 months each year, and the quantity produced is not as much as before because the number of customers placing orders has decreased. The rice cracker and peanut candy craft village in Vinh Duc is currently only spontaneous, with each person working independently, and the lack of a brand is also a difficulty for the people of the craft village...

It can be said that the common difficulties currently faced by craft villages are the lack of agents, businesses, and cooperatives to guarantee product sales. The majority of workers have limited skills and expertise, lack capital, and do not receive timely market information. The supply of raw materials and the distribution of finished products depend on multiple intermediaries, resulting in high production costs and poor competitiveness. Some communes lack specific guidance and organizational measures, hindering the development of craft villages and communes with traditional crafts. Support mechanisms and policies from various levels and sectors regarding capital, vocational training for workers, and the application of new production technologies for craft villages and communes with traditional crafts are limited. Furthermore, most localities have not yet planned raw material supply areas for craft villages, leading to a lack of proactive measures and low economic efficiency.

To develop craft villages in Do Luong, it is thought that not only do households and business owners need to expand their production scale, but there also needs to be unified guidance from specialized agencies, active involvement and coordinated efforts from all levels and sectors from the district to the grassroots level through active vocational training; mechanisms to support people in accessing loans to expand their scale and invest in machinery for production; and creating linkages between families and production facilities to form cooperatives, thereby finding markets for the products of the craft villages...

Dang Nguyen