Bát Tràng Pottery Village emphasises storytelling as a means of transforming culture into a driver of economic growth. — VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đạt

Khánh Dương

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội is home to the largest number of craft villages in the world, with more than 1,350 villages, 327 of which have been recognised as traditional craft villages.

While holding tremendous potential for development, Hà Nội’s craft villages face numerous challenges amid shifts in the economic structure and growing international integration. These factors have prompted villages to reposition their strategies to secure sustainable investment and outcomes for their products.

Nghiêm Thị Hoàng Anh, deputy director of the Hà Nội Support Centre for Enterprise and Investment Promotion, said that in the face of a rapidly growing market and the demands of the digital era, many craft villages struggle with design, technological innovation, brand building, product marketing, weak value-chain linkages, skill transfer and passing down cultural values to future generations.

Associate Professor Đặng Mai Anh, former acting vice president of the University of Art and Design, noted that the shortage of young workers and successors is a major challenge. Although many talented young people have specialised knowledge, their numbers remain limited because handicraft professions are less attractive than other fields, posing difficulties for preserving and developing the industry.

Trần Thị Phương Lan, honorary president of the Hà Nội Handicraft and Craft Village Association, observed that some villages are struggling to maintain their traditions. Many artisans must fend for themselves to find work opportunities, while their craft heritage receives limited attention from both domestic and international visitors.

To ensure sustainable investment, she called for comprehensive master plans at the national and city levels, ideally aligned with international standards.

“All craft villages should have proper planning, because only with a solid framework can they develop systematically and sustainably,” she said. “Spontaneous and fragmented development will distort and erode the authentic identity of craft villages.”

Cultural and tourism destinations

As part of their repositioning strategies, many villages are exploring creative ways to transform into cultural, tourism and trade destinations.

Silk stores at Vạn Phúc Village. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

Vạn Phúc Silk Village has launched tours that allow visitors to learn weaving skills directly from villagers. However, challenges remain, such as a shortage of translators.

Artisan Trần Thị Ngọc Lan, vice chairwoman of the Vạn Phúc Silk Weaving Craft Village Association, said she hopes to expand the project by building homestays for tourists and finding successors to continue the culture, tourism and trade model.

Meanwhile, Bát Tràng Pottery Village emphasises storytelling as a means of transforming culture into a driver of economic growth. Since 2023, the village has developed an eco-museum managed by the local community.

Hà Thị Vinh, chairwoman of the Hà Nội Handicraft and Craft Village Association, said residents have received training in tourism skills, communication and heritage storytelling. Vinh is also the 15th-generation daughter of the Hà Hữu family, one of the 19 original families of Bát Tràng still living in the village.

“The model emphasises community engagement,” she said. “Villagers are not just informed about the heritage. They are the bearers and storytellers of it. Artisans, craftswomen, elders and young people all take part in designing the museum.

“Every Bát Tràng resident today becomes a heritage storyteller: the artisans at the potter’s wheel, the mothers by the kilns, the craftswomen in their traditional kitchens and the young people bringing ceramics onto digital platforms – all breathing new life into the heritage and transforming culture into a driver of economic growth.”

The project promotes commerce, cultural development and the eco-museum of Bát Tràng Ancient Village. Heritage spaces including ancient houses, communal temples and pagodas, village gates and clan worship houses are preserved in their original form while being integrated with creative and community spaces such as workshops, pottery classes and eco-commercial areas linked to Red River tourism, the One Commune-One Product (OCOP) ceramic markets and technology-based interactive experiences.

This approach shifts from "preserving for the community" to "preserving with the community", Vinh said.

The efforts made by Vạn Phúc and Bát Tràng villages have proven that traditional craft villages can successfully preserve their heritage while adapting to modern demands and engaging the community in sustainable development.

Hoàng Anh from the Hà Nội Support Centre for Enterprise and Investment Promotion emphasised that Hà Nội views the development of craft villages not only as an economic endeavour but also as a way to preserve heritage, enhance the city’s cultural identity and stimulate growth in the cultural industries in line with the city’s policies and resolutions.

“The city is always ready to support businesses, cooperatives and artisans through investment and trade promotion programmes, brand building, digitisation of OCOP products and connection with distributors, e-commerce platforms and both domestic and international investors,” she said. — VNS