Artisans in Bàu Trúc pottery village shape clay using traditional techniques. – VNA/VNS Photo

NINH THUẬN – Bàu Trúc, one of the Chăm ethnic people’s ancient pottery villages in Ninh Thuận Province, still preserves its traditional method of using only hands and no pottery wheel.

The village also fosters community tourism.

Bàu Trúc is the oldest pottery village in Southeast Asia to maintain the hands-only method, using tools made from bamboo, shells, and snails and colours derived from tree bark.

After being shaped by hand by artisans, the clay blocks are fired in the open air to create familiar Chăm household products, such as pots, jars, and vases, in their distinctive reddish-yellow, pink, and grey-black colours.

This traditional art has made its way into UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritages in need of urgent safeguarding.

Currently, besides producing the usual household products used by the Chăm, the village artisans have also diversified to make new items such as flower vases, water bottles and night lamps.

The price of a product can exceed VNĐ1 million, depending on size and intricacy.

Phú Hữu Minh Thuần, director of the nearly 50-member Bàu Trúc Chăm Pottery Cooperative, said it is constantly striving to develop and enhance the value of its products.

Its designs are not limited to Chăm culture but also combine Western and other Vietnamese cultures, he said.

Châu Thị Hoa, a pottery artisan who has worked for over 40 years at Bàu Trúc village, said customers could also bring their own designs or ask for unique products.

She then researches and figures out how to make them, from small, lovely decorative pottery jars and water towers to flower vases and statues in various shapes.

Thuần said the cooperative regularly works to improve service quality, innovates product display methods at the visitor centre at the pottery village, and develops new experiential programs for tourists and students.

"With the trend of tourists becoming increasingly interested in craft village tourism, Bàu Trúc pottery village has become a prominent destination in Ninh Thuận Province.

"In particular, UNESCO's recognition of the art of Chăm pottery making as an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding has created widespread awareness.”

Visitors to the village can witness artisans demonstrating their skilful and highly artistic pottery making techniques.

They can themselves try their hand at making pottery and the firing process for an enjoyable experience.

Nguyễn Tiểu My, a visitor to the village from Vĩnh Long Province, said Bàu Trúc pottery is unique with its distinctive colours and diverse patterns.

She pointed out that it is completely different from industrial pottery since no two products are alike.

She was impressed by the artisans' skill in crafting a lump of clay into beautiful ceramic art.

Preservation and development of heritage

Bàu Trúc village has two cooperatives and 11 pottery production and business establishments, and 300 of its households are involved in the craft.

Its products are attracting great interest through experiential tourism and promotion through fairs and exhibitions nationwide.

The province has a number of policies to support the development of this craft village.

Notably, they are developing a project for the preservation and promotion of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Chăm People's Pottery Art with a proposed budget of over VNĐ205 billion.

It envisages achieving two things: removing the art from the list of heritages in need of urgent safeguarding and making it an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Nguyễn Long Biên, vice chairman of the Ninh Thuận People's Committee, said his province has a special focus on socio-economic development, ensuring that the Chăm community directly benefits from its traditional cultural heritage.

The province's target is to establish a sustainable system for preserving and developing the pottery art of the local Chăm community in the contemporary context, conserving its unique cultural values and enriching Việt Nam's cultural diversity. – VNS