Sai Nga conical hat making village, Cam Khe town, Cam Khe district, is located on the banks of Thao river. Initially, conical hat making was just a sideline job, but over many generations, the people here have preserved and developed it into a traditional profession, not only creating jobs and developing the economy but also contributing to preserving the unique cultural beauty of their homeland.
Talking about the origin of the hat making profession, some people working in Sai Nga said that first, some people in Chuong village (now Thanh Oai, Hanoi) during the evacuation period to Sai Nga brought the hat making profession with them. Accordingly, up to this point, the hat making profession has existed in the commune for about 70 - 80 years, concentrated in Van Phu 1, 2, 3 areas.
The profession of making conical hats in Cam Khe town, Cam Khe district has existed for a long time.
Ms. Tran Thi Hang - Van Phu 1 area, Cam Khe town said: In the village, from the elderly to the young, everyone knows how to make hats. The oldest people are over 80 years old, the youngest, like secondary school students, can help with some steps in making hats. For example, in my family, there are three generations making hats, including my grandmother, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. However, because my daughter is only in 7th grade, she mainly helps with some simple steps such as stuffing, sewing hats... in her free time. The more difficult steps are done by my grandmother and mother.
To make a conical hat, it must go through many stages, in which the materials include: leaves, molds, rims, bamboo or reed spathes, fishing line, and wool for stuffing. In the past, people often used a plow to flatten the leaves, however, today they have switched to using bamboo strips and electric stoves to flatten the leaves. When there are enough materials, they start doing each stage. The finished conical hats are sold to all markets in and outside the province at prices ranging from 25,000 to 100,000 VND depending on the size of the hat. A person who has been doing the job for a long time can make an average of 2 large hats or 6-7 small hats per day.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Hai - Van Phu 1 area shared: The hat making profession in Sai Nga village has gone through many ups and downs of history, in the golden age, the hats were made but not sold fast enough, but there was also a time when the market economy affected young people to work as workers in industrial zones, so the profession also faded away, in the village there are only a few elderly people still attached to the profession. However, the people of Sai Nga village still cherish the hat making profession, because since they started the profession, the people in the commune have had more jobs during the off-season, both developing the economy, improving their lives and creating a cultural highlight in the locality.
Although it is a side job during the off-season, hat making brings a stable income to many people here.
It is known that currently, the whole village has about 500 households making hats, producing about 550,000 hats/year, with a revenue of tens of billions of VND. In 2004, Sai Nga was officially recognized as a craft village, with 40% of income from hat making. In 2021, Sai Nga conical hats were recognized as a 3-star OCOP product, and in 2024, they were upgraded to a 4-star OCOP product.
Providing more information about the current development of craft villages, Mr. Nguyen Duc Truong - Vice Chairman of Cam Khe Town People's Committee said: Affected by the shift in economic structure from traditional crafts to economic development in industrial zones and clusters, the number of young workers attached to the profession in the locality is decreasing. In addition, due to the needs of life, the habit of using hats to protect against rain and sun of the people has changed, so the hat making profession is gradually decreasing in scale compared to before.
To continue developing the craft village, the local government regularly propagates and mobilizes people to diversify conical hat products. In addition to improving the quality of conical hat products serving daily life, developing more commercial and tourism products, introducing and promoting them at tourist destinations inside and outside the province. The conical hat products are also packaged in gift boxes; creating conditions to welcome domestic and international delegations to visit, travel and experience the atmosphere of the craft village.
With these efforts, we believe that in the coming time, Sai Nga conical hat making will continue to affirm its "brand", preserve the cultural features of the traditional craft village, and bring economic efficiency to help people have a stable life.
Vinh Ha
Source: https://baophutho.vn/net-dep-lang-nghe-non-la-sai-nga-228223.htm
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