Journey to preserve cultural values through souvenirs

Kieu Cao Dung is a familiar name to those who love souvenirs made from lotus, bodhi leaves... The young man born in Dai Dong, Thach That district ( Hanoi ) has been involved in the work of preserving Vietnamese cultural values through gifts and souvenirs since 2016 and has developed until now.

And Kha Luong village, Ninh Thang commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province is the stop that he chose for his research and production process.

Because the land of the ancient capital possesses rich natural conditions, it is a good habitat for animals and plants, including bodhi trees, lotus... In addition, this place is also famous for tourist attractions such as Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, Tam Coc - Bich Dong, Buddhist architectural works... attracting many domestic and international tourists.

Concerns about Vietnam tourism

In the past, Cao Dung had the opportunity to visit ASEAN countries and China to study and learn. He realized that the tourism industry in these countries is very open. They build and develop elements to form a complete tourism industry such as destinations, accommodation, restaurants, transportation and souvenirs very systematically.

Mr. Dung shared: "It can be seen that Huong Pagoda, Tam Chuc Pagoda, and Bai Dinh Pagoda are very close to each other. Huong Pagoda is located at the end of the old Ha Tay province, adjacent to Ha Nam province. Tam Chuc Pagoda in Ha Nam is very close to Ninh Binh, where Bai Dinh Pagoda is located. If Vietnam creates favorable conditions, tourists can travel to those three locations in the same day, instead of having to divide each day into one location as it is now. Therefore, it is highly likely that tourists will only choose to go to one of the three locations. This also means that tourism revenue will decrease significantly."

In addition, tourism professionals understand the psychology of tourists, who want to buy typical products and symbols of the destination as gifts for relatives and friends. Therefore, souvenirs are one of the factors that are very interested and focused on.

However, in Vietnam, this field has not been invested properly. Along with the achieved results, the development of gift and souvenir products is still in a state of duplication, monotony, lacking the characteristics of each region and the image of the people.

Innovating Vietnamese cultural values in souvenir products

During the process of studying, researching and experimenting with many new forms, Cao Dung has owned products such as immortal lotus flowers, conical hats made of Bodhi leaves, lotus paper... From basic products, he has created many new products, bearing the colors of his homeland.

He confided that creating unique souvenir gift products is the best way to shape his personal brand in the market. In addition, cultural factors are also emphasized, to affirm the origin of the product, which country it belongs to, and who made it. Not only that, his products must be close to nature and safe. For that reason, flowers and leaves are the materials he chooses during the research, testing and production process.

With the mindset of a young person, he selects outstanding values to flexibly incorporate into his products and hopes that Vietnamese cultural values will exist in everyone's life.

"Instead of the simple appearance of the inherent products, these values need to be renewed and exist in a different way. Typically with the Bodhi leaf product, I use Hang Trong paintings, Kim Hoang paintings, Dong Ho paintings for decoration. When becoming souvenirs, Bodhi leaves also carry the characteristics and values of other traditional craft villages. Tourists buy them as gifts, hang them on means of transport or display them in their homes and study tables. From there, these beauties are no longer lost but are transformed into another form, helping Vietnamese culture become more popular in life," Mr. Dung shared.

Journey to preserve cultural values through souvenirs — Bodhi leaves are carefully dried, ensuring quality when reaching consumers.

The Bodhi leaves made by Mr. Kieu Cao Dung are described as being so flexible and tough that people can roll them into a ball and still be able to iron them flat like a piece of cloth. In addition to decorating the leaves with calligraphy and traditional paintings, Bodhi leaves are also used by Mr. Dung to make conical hats - a familiar image when referring to Vietnam.

Using Bodhi leaves to make hats is a very difficult task, because the leaf bones are very thin, and it is even more difficult to combine them into a hat, bringing about an aesthetic effect. However, after many failures and changes in hat making methods, Mr. Dung succeeded in his creation.

Mr. Dung's Bodhi leaf bone hat is made from about 500 leaves with 9 layers, each layer corresponding to a different leaf size, connected in layers to create the shape of a blooming lotus flower. He believes that the number nine is also the spiritual number in the Nine Lotuses of Vietnamese pagoda architecture, bringing charity, peace and luck.

To meet the requirements of quantity and quality of the product, Mr. Dung has made constant efforts to improve and shorten the production time. He proudly said that from the initial time of 3 months, it gradually decreased to one month, then to seven days and now to one day.

Build a collection of souvenirs from lotus

Leaving the bustling city, Mr. Dung chose Ninh Binh as the place to help the process of learning, researching and producing souvenirs take place most smoothly. This is the source of lotus that ensures physiological and chemical conditions, serving his work.

Cao Dung confided: "Ninh Binh has many lotus ponds with many different lotus varieties. Therefore, I have many choices to experiment to see which lotus variety best suits my criteria."

From the foundation of making immortal flowers learned, Mr. Dung has researched and successfully developed the skill of making immortal lotus flowers. He chose this flower to create the finished product because the lotus has many cultural, aesthetic, spiritual and artistic values. And he also believes that the lotus flower has an important place in the hearts of every Vietnamese person.

However, Mr. Dung has encountered many difficulties in the process of finding a common formula for lotus. Because according to his experience, lotus blooms three times until it fully blooms and then fades to nourish the lotus pod. With each bloom, the lifespan and characteristics of this flower will change. After many failed experiments, he has found a common secret to ensure that these three types of flowers still ensure the best quality when producing finished products.

He added: "The difficulty in making an immortal lotus is that when people touch the flower, touch the leaves, they still think this is a real flower. The feeling of touching it is smooth, still has the softness like fresh flowers, fresh leaves in the pond, then it is valuable."

If the lotus flower continues its life cycle by drying and displaying it, decorating rooms, lotus leaves are used to make hats and paintings, then the lotus pedestal is also a valuable source of raw materials that Mr. Dung has painstakingly researched. From the lotus pedestals, the lotus paper with sparkling butterflies has become one of the souvenirs bearing the style of Kieu Cao Dung.

The lotus pods used to make paper are prepared during the main season and carefully selected. After removing all the seeds, they are dried in the sun, boiled until soft, and then cleaned again to make the paper bright white. And importantly, the colored pearl powder acts as a protective layer, creating a beautiful sparkle for the lotus paper.

After more than six years of research and study, with many difficulties and challenges, Mr. Kieu Cao Dung continues his journey of cultural preservation. His souvenirs are not only loved by the people in the country but also by foreign tourists who are willing to pay high prices to buy them as gifts. His products are now available in markets such as the US, Japan, China, India and Thailand, contributing to strengthening the belief in the journey of preserving and promoting national identity that he is on.

Not stopping at the achievements, Mr. Dung is still nurturing many new projects, promising to be important steps in the creative process to bring the values of the craft village closer to the public in a new form. He also hopes that the work he is doing will spread positivity to young people. Love traditional values, love folk cultural values and each person needs to contribute their efforts to that journey so that traditional values are not lost, not replaced by the trends of modern society.

Dieu An

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