Artisans knit cần xé (a type of large bamboo basket) in Bạc Liêu Province.– VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Kiệt

BẠC LIÊU — Bạc Liêu Province is making efforts to preserve and develop its craft villages, with a focus on integrating them with tourism services.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province boasts 10 recognised craft villages, which produce bamboo products, mats, iron products, salt, and handicrafts.

These villages provide employment for over 1,500 households in rural areas, but their production is on the decline as their products struggle to compete with modern alternatives.

The Nhà Lầu 1 Hamlet bamboo knitting village in Ninh Thạnh Lợi A Commune, Hồng Dân District, has long been known for its bamboo products such as baskets and other household items.

Lê Văn Thể, who has spent more than 50 years producing bamboo goods in the village, explains that the villagers took advantage of the local soil conditions, ideal for bamboo cultivation, to create agricultural tools and household utensils during the 1950s and 1960s.

At its peak, the village had hundreds of households producing a wide range of bamboo baskets, he says.

However, the rise of plastic, stainless steel and other materials led to a decline in the village’s production, as these products are now more competitive in terms of both design and price, he says.

The number of households engaged in bamboo weaving has now decreased to just 90, he says.

Other craft villages in the province are facing similar struggles as machine-made products, produced using modern facilities, dominate the market.

The Thống Nhất Hamlet blacksmithing village in Ngan Dừa Town, Hồng Dân District, now has only four households practising the craft.

In the past blacksmith work provided a good income, as iron household items and agricultural tools were made by hand.

Most agricultural tools are now produced by machines, offering competitive prices.

Trần Quang Điệp’s family has been involved in blacksmithing for three generations, particularly making knives in Ngan Dừa.

This occupation is physically demanding and poorly paid and as a result fails to attract workers, especially younger generations, he explains.

The province is implementing support policies to help craft villages preserve and develop their industries.

Trần Thanh Mến, director of the Department of Industry and Trade, says the department is helping and encouraging craft villages to update their production equipment, adopt advanced technologies, improve product quality and productivity, reduce production costs, and enhance competitiveness.

To expand market access, craft villages should combine traditional and modern production techniques, applying new technologies to certain production stages, which will allow them to produce goods more efficiently and diversify their designs, he says.

To ensure the long-term sustainability of craft villages, they should also incorporate tourism services, as this can help expand sales, promote production and highlight the cultural value of traditional crafts, he notes.

Lý Vỹ Triều Dương, deputy director of the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, says alongside the province’s traditional tourism strengths related to culture, history, spiritualism, and ecology, craft village tourism is emerging as an attractive new trend.

Craft village tourism can be considered a form of cultural tourism in which visitors explore craft villages, experience their cultural significance, and purchase products.

The Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism is taking various measures to develop craft village tourism, focusing on producing locally distinctive products.

It is assisting craft villages in the development of handicraft production, including the introduction of advanced technologies.

The Mỹ 1 Hamlet bamboo knitting village in Phước Long District’s Vĩnh Phú Đông Commune is currently implementing a project to apply modern technologies to boost production.

Local authorities and residents are investing in transport infrastructure to make the village more accessible to tourists and are setting up locations to showcase and sell handicrafts.

They are also working on a project to preserve and develop the village, incorporating rural tourism through the establishment of the Trúc Xanh Co-operative, which has 19 members.

The village primarily produces cần xé (a type of large bamboo basket), and local authorities are encouraging artisans to create new products, especially those tailored for tourists.

They are also soliciting investment in developing the village’s production alongside the expansion of community-based tourism services.

Trần Anh Khiêm, secretary of the Vĩnh Phú Đông Commune Party Committee, says: “One of the challenges in preserving and developing traditional craft villages is that many focus solely on production, without advertising or promoting their products. There is also a lack of research into creating new products based on their strengths.”

Products from craft villages are often sold through numerous intermediaries before reaching consumers, resulting in lower profits, which in turn deters workers from entering the trade, he says.

Bạc Liêu, the largest salt producer in the delta, is also taking steps to increase production of the condiment.

It has a project to increase the value of salt production and processing in the 2021-30 period that aims to maintain the province's salt production area at 1,500 hectares and achieve an annual output of 66,000 tonnes by 2030.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province will host the ‘Vietnamese Salt Craft Festival - Bạc Liêu 2025: 100-Year Journey of Salt – Human Life’ from March 6 to 8.

The salt-making craft in Bạc Liêu has been recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage, and Bạc Liêu salt has received a geographical indication certificate from the National Office of Intellectual Property. — VNS