Craft village products contain many intangible values

Concerns from artists

On the morning of November 9, within the framework of the Vietnam Craft Villages Conservation and Development Festival 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a talk show for a delegation of artisans and skilled workers in the field of craft and rural craft villages.

Through the talk show, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development wants to directly listen to the opinions of artisans, from which to come up with measures to conserve and develop craft villages. At the same time, build an ecosystem to support craft villages, from raw material areas supply chains to distribution, marketing, and exporting products abroad.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh, artisan of Phu Vinh bamboo and rattan craft village, Hanoi City, hopes that state management agencies will continue to pay attention and build policy mechanisms for artisans while integrating more values for craft villages such as tourism development and experiences for tourists. In addition, Mr. Tinh proposed policies to support several professions and craft villages that have been lost recently.

"Artisans like us always want to make a living from the profession our ancestors left behind. We hope that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will have many programs to encourage young people and teenagers to participate in the activities of craft villages at the same time. There is a plan to organize vocational training in areas where there is no profession," Mr. Tinh said.

Mr. Le Nam Trung, a 5-star OCOP-certified pearl artisan in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh, said that not every country has the potential to produce this product. Mr. Trung informed that only a few localities, such as Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa, and Phu Quoc... have the land funds and potential to produce this product of high economic value.

Stating that pearl production requires a relatively specific process and sharing and connecting information from many sides, Mr. Trung proposed that besides production, management agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, have a plan to guide and provide quick and timely information about market factors. "This is a core factor to increase product competitiveness, especially in the international market," he expressed.

Among the oldest group of artisans attending the discussion, Mr. Ha Ba Dinh, a ceramic artist from Chu Dau, Hai Duong province, thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for organizing a warm meeting, creating opportunities for veteran artisans the chance to contemplate and share about the ups and downs of traditional craft villages.

"At over 80 years old, I was sad to see many traditional professions and villages disappear. The reason probably lies in the fact that there is no next generation", he admitted.

On that basis, Mr. Dinh hopes that all levels and sectors will have more traditional vocational training programs, with the target audience being the younger generation. He believes that veteran artisans like himself can still contribute to this training.

Quickly build a project to develop traditional craft villages

Listening to the sharing of more than 100 artisans attending the talk show, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan reminded that artisans from media craft villages are precious assets of society. The Minister said that artisans are good workers and can make a living from the profession of their ancestors. To do that, artists need to understand what they have in hand.

Craft villages are both socio-economic, historical and cultural. Therefore, this is not only a place to preserve cultural and historical values, but also contributes to ensuring the stable material and spiritual life of the people and the community.

On that basis, the Minister wants the artisans gathered at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as thousands of people working in craft villages, to realize that every time a craft village product is sold, the artisan is selling a story, a deep traditional value.

Through the expressions of the artisans, the Minister understands that the biggest challenge for them is product output. Therefore, he hopes artisans will learn more about customer psychology after making good products. In modern life, most people do not have enough time and patience to experience product features fully. Therefore, promotion and communication must be concise, focusing on specific and core values.

The Minister also called on consumers to form a mentality and truly love Vietnamese products, stimulating market demand. He acknowledged that whether craft villages, especially traditional craft villages, can develop depends significantly on the team of skilled artisans and workers. Skilled artisans are considered the soul of traditional professions and craft villages, the people who turn simple products into works of art, crystallize value and contribute to the creation of Vietnamese culture and craft village culture.

"Each artisan and skilled craftsman can inspire workers to create craft village products, in which there is the shadow of craft village artisans. How can products in Ha Giang province, Central Highlands, Dong Thap, and Long An are all known to everyone?", Minister Le Minh Hoan set a goal.

In this direction, on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister Le Minh Hoan pledged to coordinate with craft villages nationwide to create markets and connect consuming businesses for craft village products. The ultimate goal is to sell products to people.

Borrowing a famous saying, the Minister emphasized, "No craft village will be left behind". He also assigned the Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development to build a project to develop traditional craft villages and consult to have a specialized magazine about craft villages appear on domestic and international flights.