Positioning the value of craft villages in cultural industry

Lesson 1: Great cultural and economic value

Developing crafts and craft villages is important in preserving cultural identity, creating jobs, improving the socio-economic life of the community, and contributing to promoting the image of the country and people of Vietnam to the world. However, due to many reasons, many craft villages that are hundreds of years old are gradually disappearing with regret...

On October 14, 2024, the People's Committee of Quang Nam province signed a decision to revoke the recognition certificate of An Phuoc mat weaving village (Duy Phuoc commune, Duy Xuyen district). This information made many people feel sad about the fate of a craft village with an age of approximately 500 years that has now had to stop operating.

Due to many reasons, many craft villages that are hundreds of years old are gradually disappearing with regret...

According to regulations, to be recognized as a traditional craft village, it must meet the criteria of having at least 20% of the total number of households in the area participating in one or more rural craft activities; stable production and business for at least two consecutive years up to the time of requesting recognition. However, for more than 5 years in An Phuoc mat weaving village, production activities have almost stagnated due to the lack of product consumption, leading to many villagers leaving the profession. In fact, professions that are no longer suitable, and are unable to be maintained and developed, will be screened and eliminated.

In 2004, along with An Phuoc mat weaving village, Ban Thach mat weaving village (Duy Vinh commune, Duy Xuyen district) was also recognized as a traditional craft village with more than 350 production households. However, up to now, the craft village has only 35 households, and almost only a few elderly people still persist in maintaining the traditional mat weaving profession.

An elderly artisan in the village could not help but feel sorry when giving a calculation: The couple worked hard to weave 3 mats each day, after deducting expenses, the remaining 50,000 VND was called labor wages. Some households in the village boldly invested in weaving machines to improve productivity, but the income was only about 150,000 VND/day, this income level was too low to be sustainable.

In Hanoi, according to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, from 1,350 craft villages and villages with crafts, now in the city there are only 806 craft villages and villages with crafts still operating, 544 villages have been lost and gradually eliminated.

Recently, 29 craft villages continued to be included in the list of reviewed and proposed to be removed from the "List of recognition of the title of craft village, traditional craft village" of the city. Among them, we can mention Yen Truong rattan and bamboo weaving village (Truong Yen commune, Chuong My district) which was recognized as a traditional craft village in 2009, however, up to now, most of the production households have changed their business direction to develop the economy.

Similarly, through the review process in many craft villages in Hai Duong province, it shows that the rate of households maintaining traditional occupations is very low, not meeting the regulations. For example, Thanh Mien district has 9 craft villages but 2 craft villages are almost inactive, which are An Duong embroidery and crocheting village (Chi Lang Nam commune) and La Ngoai bamboo grafting and embroidery village (Ngu Hung commune). Or the bamboo and rattan weaving village in Cham village, Gia Loc district has only 6.2% of households still practicing the craft.

Currently, the country has 5,400 craft villages, of which 2,000 are traditional craft villages, and 57 national intangible cultural heritages belong to the traditional craft category.

The causes of the decline of craft villages come from many sides.

First of all, the increasingly strict market makes it difficult for handmade products to compete with cheap industrial goods with diverse designs.

For example, a hand-woven Dinh Yen mat takes a worker all day to complete, and is expensive, while mass-produced industrial plastic mats are cheaper and more convenient in the eyes of consumers.

Second, the increasingly scarce source of raw materials has pushed many craft villages into an even more difficult situation. For example, in the bamboo and rattan industry, there are about 600 craft villages nationwide that have to import raw materials. Because with 1.5 million hectares of sedge, bamboo, and rattan (according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the total reserve of the whole country is about 9.5 billion trees, the average exploitation is from 500-600 million trees/year but the consumption demand is up to 900 million to 1 billion trees/year.

Therefore, importing raw materials is a mandatory requirement to ensure uninterrupted production. Third, environmental pollution from outdated manual production methods is another major barrier.

According to the Vietnam Craft Village Association, 46% of craft villages under investigation are currently severely polluted in terms of air, water or soil, seriously affecting people's health. In addition, the lack of human resources, the lack of qualified and dedicated successors, the lack of appropriate promotion and market access methods, etc. are also the reasons why craft villages are in a state of stagnation.

On the other hand, there is a worrying reality in the community when the role of traditional craft villages is underestimated because they think that craft villages have become outdated and no longer suitable for today's industrialization and digitalization.

The lack of connection between traditional values ​​and modern life, along with education and communication not really being able to arouse pride in heritage in the community, especially among the youth. The consequence of this distorted perception is negative behavior towards craft villages: from underestimating the value of traditional craft villages, to indifference in preserving identity, or imposing external values ​​to develop craft villages in the way of "destructive exploitation", over-harvesting, fading the inherent identity.

The decline of craft villages not only causes the loss of traditional crafts but also risks causing a breakdown in craft culture, disintegrating craft communities that have been closely linked for many generations. Not to mention the impact on the flow of labor after the disintegration of craft villages also poses potential problems of social security and order.

In An Phuoc village, when the mat weaving craft died out, people went to the city to make a living, leaving behind deserted houses and village roads covered with weeds. In Da Phuoc village (An Giang), the secrets of brocade weaving, which used to be a link between generations, are now only preserved in the memories of the elderly, leaving an unfillable void in the spiritual life of the community.

Ethnologist Nguyen Duc Tu Chi once analyzed that villages are the living cells of Vietnamese society, not only administrative units but also economic and cultural centers, shaping the identity of Vietnamese rural areas. When craft villages no longer exist, the entire community ecosystem is disrupted. If in the previous period, every rhythm of life here revolved around traditional crafts, now the craft falls into difficulty, the local economy is affected, including auxiliary livelihoods, affecting the sustainability of the social structure.

Currently, the country has 5,400 craft villages, of which 2,000 are traditional craft villages and 57 national intangible cultural heritages belonging to traditional handicrafts. Craft villages are creating jobs for about 11 million local workers, accounting for about 30% of the labor force in rural and mountainous areas.

Products from craft villages have been exported to more than 160 countries, bringing in a turnover of more than 2 billion USD each year. Many traditional craft villages continue to promote their value, contributing to improving material and spiritual life, eliminating hunger, reducing poverty, building new rural areas; becoming attractive destinations for domestic and international tourists. The economic and cultural value of craft villages is undeniable.

From here, urgent requirements are raised in preserving, finding ways to overcome difficulties and creating new vitality for craft village heritages to continue contributing to the sustainable development of the country.

Of course, not all craft villages can be retained in the context of a constantly changing modern society, with increasingly diverse community needs and increasingly stringent demands. We need a thorough assessment and screening process to focus resources on craft villages that have development prospects, adapt to the market and still retain unique and distinctive values ​​that need to be preserved, while craft villages that no longer meet practical needs can gradually be replaced. This screening not only helps prevent investment from being spread out, formal and ineffective, but also ensures that support policies are focused in the right places, bringing sustainable values ​​in both culture and economy.

(To be continued)

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dinh-vi-gia-tri-lang-nghe-trong-cong-nghiep-van-hoa-post867432.html