Khăn rằn (scarves with checkered pattern) made in the Long Khánh A weaving village in Hồng Ngự District’s Long Khánh Commune in Đồng Tháp Province. – VNA/VNS Photo Chương Đài

ĐỒNG THÁP – The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp is taking measures to preserve and develop craft villages, and increase incomes for their workers.

Under the provincial People’s Committee’s plan to preserve and develop craft villages, the province targets 70 per cent of its craft villages will operate effectively by 2025 and 80 per cent of its craft villages will operate effectively by 2030.

The province plans 80 per cent of its workers will be provided vocational skills, work hygiene and safety, and basic information technology knowledge by 2025, and this rate will be increased to 100 per cent in 2030.

The province plans that at least 20 per cent of craft villages will have OCOP products under the country’s “one commune-one product” (OCOP) programme by 2025 to increase their product value.

Under the plan, at least 30 per cent of craft villages will have intellectual property protection for their products by 2025.

The average income of craft village workers in 2025 will be 1.5 times higher than in 2020.

The province will preserve 16 craft villages and traditional craft villages that make fishing tools, fishing nets, bamboo baskets, bamboo weaving, wooden boats, rice flour and glutinous rice flour.

To meet the targets, the province will strengthen advocacy activities to promote the operation of craft villages in the media, develop human resources for craft villages, and renovate the production of craft villages to increase their product competitiveness.

The province will boost the application of science and technology for the production of craft villages, implement trade promotion activities for craft villages, implement support policies for rural occupation development, and strengthen the State management of craft villages.

According to Huỳnh Minh Tuấn, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, the preservation and development of craft villages aim to maintain and promote their value and traditional culture.

The province encourages craft product producers to participate in the preservation and development of craft villages.

The OCOP programme has helped boost the production of craft villages, create jobs and increase income for craft village workers.

The province has 39 craft villages and traditional craft villages that produce food, handicraft products, household utensils and other products.

Many of the craft villages have lasted for a century and provided jobs for thousands of locals.

The Long Khánh A scarf weaving village in Hồng Ngự District’s Long Khánh Commune has weaved khăn rằn (scarf with checkered pattern) for more than 100 years.

It has 60 households participating in making the scarf and other weaving products. The households have a total of 200 workers and produce more than 4,000 scarves a day.

The scarfs are sold domestically and exported to Cambodia.

The Sa Đéc flour making village in Sa Đéc City has been operating for more than 100 years and makes about 30,000 tonnes of flour products from rice and glutinous rice a year.

The village’s flour products are sold in the south region and exported.

The Long Hậu boat making village in Lai Vung District’s Long Hậu Commune has existed for more than 100 years, and its wood boat making occupation was recognised in 2015 as the national intangible heritage.

However, the boat making village has reduced its wood boat production in recent years because boat users now prefer using composite boats or metal hull boats.

The number of boat making households in the commune has fallen from more than 150 households about 20 years ago to 80 households now. – VNS