Quynh Yen develops craft villages

Quynh Yen (Quynh Luu) is a purely agricultural commune, the people's lives are generally difficult. Chosen by the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district as a pilot for new rural construction, the Party Committee and the local government have determined the goal of economic development as shifting the rural labor structure towards gradually increasing the proportion of non-agricultural labor.

In particular, the key point, in line with the local situation, is to develop small-scale handicrafts, which are rattan and bamboo weaving for export. After more than 10 years of construction, on May 28, 2011, the rattan and bamboo weaving export craft village of Thuong Yen village was recognized by the Provincial People's Committee as a provincial-level craft village.

Ceremony to receive the title of Thuong Yen village craft village.

Thuong Yen village currently has 102 households with 375 people. The export rattan and bamboo weaving profession began to form and develop in the village since 2000. Realizing the benefits from developing the export rattan and bamboo weaving craft village, the village proposed to the Commune People's Committee to build the craft village in a stable and sustainable direction.

Currently, the total number of households directly engaged in the craft in Thuong Yen village is 81, accounting for 79.4% of the total number of households. Currently, the craft village is contracting to supply raw materials and consume products with Duc Phong Company Limited (Nghi Phu commune - Vinh city). With adequate supply of raw materials and the purchase of all products on site, workers are increasingly attached to the craft. The products of the export rattan and bamboo weaving craft village in Thuong Yen village are quite diverse.

Under the skillful hands of the workers, raw materials such as rattan, bamboo, and reed have been "breathed into life" to become plates, vases, table lamps, lanterns... with beautiful designs and high usage value. The production scale of the craft village is increasingly expanding, and the number of products made has also increased accordingly.

In 2010, the Thuong Yen rattan and bamboo export craft village produced 49,792 products. The average income of workers was from 1.2 to 1.5 million VND/person/month.

The poverty rate in the village has gradually decreased, currently only 4% according to the new criteria. According to Mr. Le Quoc Bao - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Yen commune: "The initial success of the rattan and bamboo weaving export village model in Thuong Yen village has significantly contributed to the local economic development goal, creating jobs for workers, especially during the off-season, increasing income for households doing the craft".

The development of Thuong Yen village's craft village is primarily due to the correct policy combined with the high consensus of the people, the abundant local labor force, especially female labor, which is very favorable for the development of the export rattan and bamboo weaving profession.

Thuong Yen craft village is also facing certain difficulties. The awareness of some people about developing new occupations is still limited. On the other hand, there is a lack of factories and concentrated production areas, affecting the development of the craft village. Ms. Ho Thi Tuong - in charge of technical skills of the bamboo and rattan weaving group of the craft village said: "The locality needs to create conditions for the craft village to build production factories and warehouses for storing raw materials so that production can be concentrated and labor productivity can be increased. In addition, all levels and sectors also need to have more support policies to increase income so that workers can stick with the profession for a long time."

Recently, the Government issued Decision No. 11/2011/QD-TTg on policies for developing rattan and bamboo craft villages. These special preferential policies can be considered as encouraging signals for rattan and bamboo craft villages in the whole province in general, and the export rattan and bamboo craft village of Thuong Yen in particular, to expand their development in the coming time. Sustainable development of craft villages is a priority of localities on the way to building a new rural program.

Bui Minh Tuan