Dong Vinh craft village faces difficulties

Products of the Hoang Hiep Wood-working Facility

We arrived in Dong Vinh in a late October day and found that the village was unusually quiet given that the period is supposed to be busy with more sales in the run-up to Tet (Lunar New Year festival).

“Dong Vinh is facing difficulties in production and sales. It used to be a busy wood working village in past with five or six shipments made a day by wood-working facilities, but now this just happens once a week. Product prices have also plummeted. For example, A VND30 million set of table and couches is now on sale for just over VND10 million. Yet it’s still hard to find a buyer,” said Head of Dong Vinh Wood-working Village Duong Duc Lam.

The prolonged slump caused some local wood-working facilities to suspend or adjust production activities. “Previously, we produced 20 wooden furniture pieces per month, but now only a few. Our incomes have fallen and our investment isn’t yielding any profit, so sometimes we want to quit. My wife is about to go working abroad as wood-working incomes have failed to cover our expenses,” said Hiep, owner of the Hoang Hiep Wood-working Facility.

Dong Vinh specializes in mother-of-pearl engraving products, most of which are produced by several other wood-working villages including Dong Ky in Bac Ninh Province and La Xuyen in Nam Dinh Province and will be exported mainly to China which is now saturated.

“Many experienced wood-working craft people have gone to work abroad or moved to make a living, which is a threat to the village in terms of the craft development,” said Duong Duc Lam.

According to Vice Chairman of the Chuyen My Commune People’s Committee Pham Van Dai, under the leadership of the Phu Xuyen District People’s Committee, Chuyen My Commune has organized an annual fair with a view to honoring local villages, promoting craft village links, attracting tourists and expanding the market. As a result, some local wood-working facilities have been able to sell well their products at the fair or secure a handful of orders.

In addition, it will also cover transport costs for local wood-working facilities that are registered to participate in fairs hosted by the Phu Xuyen District People’s Committee and the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, and regularly coordinates with the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade to provide market development and sales promotion consultancy for wood-working facility owners.

The Chuyen My Fine-art Cooperative regularly organizes vocational training courses for rural workers, especially mother-of-pearl engraving and lacquer ware making and designing skills.

Viet Nga