Craft villages are a major beneficiary of industry promotion programs. From 2014 to 2018, the Vietnam Association of Crafts Villages (VICRAFTS) coordinated with other organizations to sponsor seminars on fine art and handicraft development (including product design and packaging consultancy) and improvement of the craft village environment and management in the northern provinces of Hai Duong, Thai Nguyen, and Nam Dinh.
The association implemented projects to train craftspeople and artisans in bamboo and rattan ware production villages, with training courses in Hanoi - the capital - and Nam Dinh Province helping 200 people improve their knowledge and skills and create higher quality and value products.
VICRAFTS Chairman Luu Duy Dan said Vietnam has about 5,000 craft villages, and the association provides appropriate assistance for specific ones. After five years of benefiting from industry promotion assistance, a number of craft villages have improved remarkably in terms of production and product development. They have begun to take advantage of the media and used the internet to promote products and connect with consumers and importers.
However, according to Dan, craft villages across the country are encountering difficulties, the biggest ones related to land and workspace. The industry and trade sector has planned and built industrial zones but many of them have not attracted producers due to their distant location from residential areas and do not satisfy producers’ demand. Some craft villages in Hanoi, including Van Phuc and Son Dong, do not have enough land for industrial zone construction.
Also at issue is the continued imitation of craft village products. Chinese-made products are found in massive amounts in such famous handicraft localities as Bat Trang Commune (renowned for making ceramics and pottery) and the Van Phuc silk village in Hanoi, and Mai Chau District in the northern province of Hoa Binh (renowned for making brocades). This fraud will affect the development of craft villages in the long-term.
Dan said the role of industry promotion must be improved in facilitating craft village development. There should be new modes of industrial promotion, which help build connectivity among localities and form large-scale production and supply chains. It is important to open craft village product trade fairs and exhibitions attracting producers nationwide and apply graphics in product design.
Apart from industry promotion programs of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and vocational training programs for rural workers by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, assistance from other ministries and sectors is important for craft village development, Dan said.
Source: ven.vn
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