Ninh Thuan crafts plan to boost unique handicraft villages

Fragmented development

Ninh Thuan Province in Vietnam’s south central coast region is dotted with a large number of handicraft villages, but according to a survey by the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, these trade villages have developed in a fragmented manner and lad behind in market competitiveness. The province has therefore failed to fully utilization its potential in rural industrial development.

For example, the handicraft industry in Tap La Village, Phuoc Chien Commune and Thuan Bac District has a long history but its market is not stable and production is mainly gear for local consumption because its products are old-fashioned and do not mean current design standards and consumer taste.

Similarly, although up to 50 percent of households in the area are involved in seafood processing in My Tan Village, Thanh Hai Commune, and Ninh Hai District, the total household income is relatively low - roughly VND2 million per capita a month. Most production facilities are small-scale and rely on obsolete equipment. In other cases, products do not have brands or labels, impairing their competitiveness. Access to loans for production development is considerably limited. Other traditional villages in Ninh Thuan, such as Lac Son 2 fish sauce processing village of Ca Na Commune, Thuan Nam District, and the handicrafts of Cau Gay Village in Vinh Hai Commune, Ninh Hai District are in the same bind.

From wine to bamboo

In order to cope with the problem, the provincial People’s Committee has issued a plan to support the development of handicraft villages in Ninh Thuan by 2020. It includes restoring and developing brocade weaving and baked ceramics, and continuing to create conditions for the development of bamboo, rattan and carpentry products. By the year 2020, priority support will be given to the development of handicraft from forest tree seeds and of processing from the province’s specialty resources such as grape wine, dried grapes, honey, dried bamboo shoots and more.

Every year, the province organizes 1-2 vocational courses for professional training in seafood processing; helps 1-2 enterprises apply machinery and equipment for production; supports design consultancy, packaging for different types of products. More importantly, by 2020 the province hopes to form 1-2 linked industrial clusters, with priority given to handicraft and seafood processing and fish sauce. Beside that, planning and forming material areas for these industries will executed, along with establishing infrastructure investment for the handicraft industries…

To ensure the plan is successful, the People’s Committee has set out specific tasks for each level, branch and unit. The provincial Department of Industry and Trade as the leading agency is responsible for coordinating with relevant units to implement the plan; developing projects and support funds from industrial promotion sources; compiling lists of difficulties and problems and gathering proposals from units to submit to the provincial People’s Committee for consideration.