An artisan from Hạ Thái Village decorates on a lacquerware item. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese outstanding artisans and handicraft products will be celebrated at the first craft village conservation and development festival that takes place at Thăng Long Imperial Citadel from November 9-12.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Việt Nam currently has over 5,000 craft villages, providing jobs for about 1.58 million labourers with an average monthly income of around VNĐ5-6 million (US$205 - 246) per person. Particularly, Hà Nội is home to over 50 per cent of the total number of craft villages in the country.

Many craft villages in Hà Nội, some as old as 500 to 1,000 years, have become well-known nationally and globally, such as Vạn Phúc silk village, Đông Hồ folk painting village and Bát Tràng pottery village.

“This is a significant activity aimed at preserving, reenacting, and promoting the traditional cultural values of the nation while forming contemporary cultural features of Vietnamese craft villages, among which those in Hà Nội serve as a central hub to spread these values to other localities,” said Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Nguyễn Minh Tiến.

“It is expected to boost consumption, increasing the value of craft products and developing tourism in craft villages, thereby generating more jobs and narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas,” he noted.

The highlights of the festival include the ceremony honouring 100 exemplary artisans and skilled craftsmen nationwide, and an international fair showcasing typical handicraft and specialty products of not only Việt Nam but also of other countries such as Laos, Indonesia, Thailand and Russia.

Its 300 booths exhibit and introduce notable handicraft products from traditional craft villages nationwide like Bát Tràng pottery, Mỹ Đức silk, Hạ Thái lacquerware and Chu Đậu ceramics, among others.

Outstanding artisans will be invited to demonstrate and showcase their skills at making various crafts such as wood carving, embroidery, silk weaving, conical hat making, pottery and bronze casting.

Within the framework of the festival, there will be several other organised activities. They include artistic programmes representing the cultural traditions of various craft villages, an international workshop on conservation and development of craft villages, a workshop on building a silk cocoon raw material region and the award ceremony of Vietnam Handicraft Product Competition 2023.

Việt Nam has set a target of reaching $6 billion in exports of handicraft products, a substantial increase from the $2.4 billion achieved in 2022. — VNS