In the context of fierce competition in consumer markets, technology and labor, many craft villages in Thanh Hoa with their own direction still survive over time. Not only preserving cultural identity, contributing to the development of the rural economy, many craft villages have become a source of pride for the spirit of labor and creativity of the people of Thanh Hoa.
Products of Tien Loc forging village were developed by XR Tan Loc Tai Company Limited into 3-star OCOP products and certified as top 10 prestigious national brands.
Craft villages that last through time
When mentioning the "hundred-year-old" craft villages in Thanh Hoa, it is impossible to miss the Tra Dong bronze casting craft village (Che village), Thieu Trung commune (Thieu Hoa). No one knows exactly when the bronze casting craft in Tra Dong village began, but it is known that it has been passed down from generation to generation and has had new developments. At its peak, artisans have researched and successfully restored bronze drums using traditional manual methods after centuries of loss. Today, bronze drums and bronze objects from Tra Dong village have gone beyond the bamboo fences of the village, bringing the pride of the people of "Ke Che" and Thanh Hoa to all parts of the country. In 2018, the traditional bronze casting craft of Tra Dong village was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.
This is one of the rare craft villages in the country with a production value exceeding 200 billion VND/year. Not only creating stable jobs for nearly 500 workers, the bronze casting profession here has also made an important contribution to preserving the resounding bronze drum sounds of the brilliant Dong Son culture. Currently, in Thieu Trung commune, there are 132 bronze casting establishments, accounting for 35.2% of the households in the village. The traditional bronze casting profession has created stable, regular jobs for nearly 400 local workers. In Tra Dong, many households thanks to the traditional profession have also built spacious houses and have a prosperous economic life.
With a sedge raw material area of about 2,000 hectares, Thanh Hoa also has dozens of craft villages making mats and handicrafts from sedge, mainly concentrated in Nga Son and Quang Xuong districts. Currently, there are 5 craft villages making sedge mats, 14 traditional craft villages making sedge mats in Nga Son district, 5 craft villages in Quang Xuong district have been recognized by the Provincial People's Committee.
Starting from simple rustic products such as sedge mats, today, the long, tough sedge branches have been "breathed into life" by the talented, creative hands of craftsmen into many sophisticated, unique, and valuable handicrafts such as slippers, decorative mirrors, green sedge vases, trays, plates... Following in the footsteps of enterprises such as Viet Trang Export Company Limited, Ngan Khuong Company Limited, Viet Anh Export Sedge Production and Processing Joint Stock Company... Thanh sedge products are present in many European countries, the US, Japan, Korea, Singapore, the Czech Republic...
According to statistics from the Department of Industry and Trade, in the field of small-scale industry alone, the province currently has 18 craft villages and 53 traditional craft villages that have been recognized by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee as meeting the criteria. These craft villages are creating jobs for about 65,000 workers with an average income of 4 - 10 million VND/person/month... Many craft villages have a strong vitality and are increasingly developing, such as the blacksmithing craft in Tien Loc commune (Hau Loc); the carpentry craft in Dat Tai village (Hoang Hoa); the stone craft craft in Mai village, Minh Tan commune (Vinh Loc); the seafood processing craft village in Hai Binh commune (Nghi Son town)...
Catch up with the trend
Although having the advantage of “word of mouth” brand, however, the secret for many craft villages to have long-term vitality depends largely on the sharp thinking to integrate with the market. Many craft villages in Thanh Hoa today have young people as their owners, with new explorations, innovations and readiness to keep up with the tastes and consumption methods of consumers.
Born and raised in Tien Loc (Hau Loc), Pham Van Tien (born 1995) has had a special passion for the traditional blacksmithing profession left by his ancestors since he was a child. In 2013, Tien started his business and spent time visiting many blacksmith villages in provinces and cities across the country. Tien said: "Not only learning experience, technology, and production and business management methods, it is also an opportunity for me to grasp market demand and consumer tastes. In addition to learning domestically, I also search and research more information about knife making in some developed countries, especially Japan, through the internet."
After nearly ten years of research, learning, and capital accumulation, in 2022, Mr. Tien decided to establish XR Tan Loc Tai Co., Ltd. in the forging village in his hometown of Tien Loc and invested nearly 1 billion VND to purchase plasma machines, punching machines, high-frequency quenching furnaces, and sheet metal cutting machines to produce stainless steel knives. After only a short time on the market, the stainless steel knife product has attracted consumers, because the knife still retains the traditional features of Tien Loc forging village, but the rust resistance reaches 96%. In 2023, XR Tan Loc Tai stainless steel knife products were recognized as 3-star OCOP products and certified as top 10 prestigious national brands. From a small family production facility, Mr. Pham Van Tien has now developed into 2 production facilities, with an area of 250 - 300m2/facility, creating regular jobs for 15 - 17 local workers and 60 local people who receive products for home processing. Mr. Tien is also promoting investment in the 3rd facility with an area of 1,500m2 to expand the production scale and complete the product display space.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the total revenue of craft villages reaches about 1,490 billion VND per year. Along with the acumen of businesses and young craft village owners participating in production, since Thanh Hoa province implemented the OCOP Program, it has also created a "push" to innovate production thinking in craft villages and traditional craft villages. Many craft villages have good "vitality" and are constantly expanding their production and business scope, such as: Tu Tru sticky rice cake village, Xuan Lap toothpick cake, Phu Xuan rice vermicelli, Ngoc Thom conical hat (Tho Xuan); Tan Chau rice paper (Thieu Hoa); Thang Long rice vermicelli, Van Thang incense (Nong Cong); Phu Quang lam tea (Vinh Loc); Ai village soy sauce (Yen Dinh)... Up to now, there have been 18 OCOP products of craft villages and traditional craft villages that have achieved 3-star and 4-star certification. Most of the products of craft villages after being awarded the OCOP star have developed well, with an average increase of 20 - 25% compared to before joining the program. Among them, there are some products that have developed the market very well, present in many domestic supermarket chains and successfully exported to demanding markets.
Also according to the assessment of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the local raw material area to supply craft villages such as the sedge area of more than 2,000 hectares; the largest bamboo, rattan, reed, and rattan area in the country with 128,000 hectares will be the source of raw material supply for craft villages, especially handicraft villages with opportunities to develop. Along with continuing to develop craft villages, traditional craft villages with typical products, participating in the OCOP program, the agricultural sector and related units will continue to research and orient the development of craft village product brands associated with the province's tourism brand, maximizing the demand for consumption of goods associated with tourism that has not yet fully exploited its potential.
Article and photos: Minh Hang
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/xu-thanh-noi-hoi-tu-san-pham-tinh-hoa-bai-cuoi-lang-nghe-va-lang-nghe-truyen-thong-bat-nhip-xu-huong-thi-truong-220117.htm
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