Exploiting unique indigenous cultural values into tourism products

Having worked with the Ba Na people in Kong Long Khong commune, Kbang district (Gia Lai province) for more than 10 years, Ms. Tran Thi Bich Ngoc, a cultural officer of the commune, has not only actively promoted the preservation and development of the traditional brocade weaving craft of the Ba Na people among local people, but has also worked with the community to improve their capacity and create new designs with high applicability, suitable for the needs of contemporary life.

As the head of the Project to Preserve and Develop the Ba Na Brocade Weaving Craft in Kong Long Khong Commune, Ms. Ngoc has mobilized elderly artisans to pass on their craft to women in the commune, restoring the craft village from the risk of extinction, and developing many new products based on brocade patterns.

Differences in culture, language, living habits... made it difficult for Ms. Ngoc to mobilize people in the commune to preserve and develop the traditional brocade weaving craft of the Ba Na people. With unique indigenous customs and unmixed culture, the Ba Na people in Kong Long Khong have a tradition of growing cotton, harvesting, and all the steps of separating cotton, spinning, dyeing thread... are done by hand.

Furthermore, the locals only weave fabrics and make clothes for their family members, and do not have any commercial products. The process of waiting for harvest to complete the finished product lasts several months, so the number of villagers who still maintain the brocade weaving profession is gradually decreasing. To carry out the project of preserving the weaving profession in parallel with economic development in a purely agricultural village, after working hours, Ms. Ngoc goes down to the village to talk to and mobilize the people, encouraging them to take advantage of their free time during the harvest season to do more weaving.

At first, people did not believe that weaving products could be sold and were hesitant to return to the profession because the waiting time for harvesting and finishing the product was too long, the product cost was high, and the wages were not much.

To gain people’s trust, Ms. Ngoc convinced those who were truly interested in weaving and the core artisans in the village. The first product to be launched on the market was a modernized costume based on traditional costumes for people to conveniently and easily use in their daily lives.

In addition, Ms. Ngoc and the locals researched and focused on developing patterns on industrial fabrics, creating innovative products while still retaining traditional characteristics. Seeing the first products selling, the locals began to participate, relying on traditional crafts to serve tourists and develop the family economy.

Up to now, Ms. Ngoc and her colleagues have developed documents on the brocade weaving process (169 pages with 32 lessons), organized brocade weaving classes taught directly by the village's elite artisans and developed new products based on traditional brocade patterns. The patterns are selected appropriately to design earrings, wallets, handbags, decorate clothes, pillowcases, tablecloths... to suit market needs.

The success of the project helps people develop their weaving profession and improve their family economy. More and more people are returning to their traditional weaving profession. In 2023, Ms. Ngoc supported and guided local people to build a brand for Brung scarves, becoming a 3-star OCOP product of Kbang district.

In the northern mountainous region, the indigo dyeing, weaving, and beeswax painting tours of Muong Hoa Cooperative in Ta Van Day 2 village, Ta Van commune, Sa Pa town (Lao Cai province) attract domestic and foreign tourists. Implementing the Women's Entrepreneurship Project since 2018, Ms. Sung Thi Lan (Black H'Mong ethnic group) established Muong Hoa Cooperative (with nine initial members) to produce and develop brocade products, patterns, and hand-embroidered accessories from hand-woven fabrics, creating jobs for Black H'Mong and Red Dao women.

Up to now, the products and services of Muong Hoa Cooperative have become increasingly diverse, providing cultural experiences of the Giay and H'Mong ethnic groups... for tourists. Ms. Sung Thi Lan is both the Chairwoman of Muong Hoa Cooperative and the Chairwoman of the Women's Entrepreneurship Club for the development of the Sa Pa town community.

Exploiting unique indigenous cultural values into tourism products photo 1

Lu ethnic women in Ban Hon commune, Tam Duong district (Lai Chau) spin thread to weave brocade. (Photo by NGUYEN DANG)

As a daughter of the Sa Pa mountains and forests, Ms. Sung Thi Lan said: With the motto of both preserving traditional crafts and developing products associated with community tourism development to attract visitors, Muong Hoa Cooperative has built brocade groups, growing flax, weaving flax, spinning, weaving, and organizing workshops to welcome visitors to Ta Van village. However, implementing the model right in the village where she was born is not without difficulties and challenges for her.

Most of the indigenous people live in the mountains, have little opportunity to interact with market life, and are limited because they do not know the common language, and their customs and practices are still backward... so the process of mobilizing people to participate in product development is not simple. There are many people who are skilled in embroidery and dyeing but are illiterate, or young people who know how to sell but do not understand indigenous culture.

During the difficult time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms. Sung Thi Lan still persistently built and led community groups, and Muong Hoa Cooperative gathered people who used to be street vendors and tourists to join embroidery, weaving, and brocade production groups... Since then, thanks to creating jobs and stable income, gradually, the embroidery group of Muong Hoa Cooperative has more than 300 members. The main product is brocade, which is recycled to protect the environment. The group collects used patterns, accessories, and handmade costumes, brings them back to recycle, clean, renew, and redesign according to models to meet market demand.

From products with random patterns, not choosing suitable colors, receiving feedback from tourists, the cooperative researches consumer trends, user tastes, chooses unique and suitable patterns to design products with suitable designs, easy to apply and easy to sell. Gradually, the products and services of the cooperative are increasingly expanded and diversified, creating impressions and recognition in the local community and tourists.

Through the process of self-development and gradual improvement of products, the activities of Muong Hoa Cooperative have become increasingly diverse, reaching domestic and foreign tourists, from organizing workshops teaching beeswax painting, indigo dyeing, weaving to forming a chain of community services to experience handicraft activities, homestay to experience local culture and cuisine... both developing diverse products and creating a dynamic Sa Pa women's community...

Preserving and passing on the traditional brocade weaving craft, sharing ideas to innovate traditional products with cultural identity is the right trend in exploiting indigenous values, creating products that attract tourists, bringing sustainable livelihoods to local people.

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