Vietnam traditional village modernizes production

In order to maintain and develop their traditional craft, residents in the Nha Xa Weaving Village are gradually modernizing production.

Nguyen Quang Thoai, the head of the Nha Xa Weaving Village in Moc Nam commune, Duy Tien district, Ha Nam province, said that in 1993-1994 traditional production methods, low productivity and poor styles of products could not meet the requirements of the market-oriented economy. In such circumstances, to maintain and develop the traditional craft that came into existence in 1280, residents in the Nha Xa Weaving Village have gradually replaced traditional production methods with semi-industrial production methods. Currently, 225 households in the village have 270 weaving machines and 80% of workers in the village are doing the weaving craft with an average income of VND13 million per person per year. In recent years, some production stages have been specialized. Of the 218 households that are doing the craft, 170 specialize in weaving, 17 in bleaching, and the remaining households work for weaving enterprises in the village.

Nguyen Quang Thoai added that semi-industrial methods allow production facilities not only to double the productivity but also to improve the quality and diversify the style of products. Silk and satin products made in the village sell very well in big cities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. Every year, the village produces 1.2-1.8 million m of fabric, which make up 50% of the total value of its products.

Joining the growth of the national economy, the Nha Xa Weaving Village has expanded production in the direction of industrialization and modernization. Tran Van Hung, an experienced weaver and the owner of a weaving enterprise in the village, said, “Most production facilities in Nha Xa now do not use the manual loom but they use the improved semi-industrial weaving machine or industrial weaving machine imported from China. In 2004, my family invested VND200 million to buy 10 weaving machines and employed seven workers. On average, we produce about 10,000m of silk each month.” Productivity has increased but production facilities in Nha Xa are lacking materials. Traditional material production areas of the village such as Ba Sao, Kim Bang, Chuyen Ngoai, Van Ly and Nam Dinh cannot supply enough materials. So Nha Xa weavers have to import materials from China and Chinese Taipei.

Weaving plants create much noise, dust and discharge into the environment some kinds of bleach. Paying much attention to this matter, in 2006, the People’s Committees of Duy Tien district and Moc Nam commune built a clean water supply system for residents in the Nha Xa Weaving Village. This year, the Ha Nam Department of Industry and Trade has invited some Australian environmental specialists to survey and devise an environmental protection plan for the village. – VEN

Tags: Vietnam Handicraft, Vietnam traditional village

Posted by VBN on Sep 16 2010. Filed under Handicraft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry