The fine art of promoting craft village development

Diverse promotional solutions

Vietnam is proud to be one of the cradles of traditional crafts in the world, expressing rich and diverse tangible and intangible cultural values. Despite the development of many modern industries, along with rapid urbanization, many traditional craft villages still flourish ranging in type from lacquer, ceramic and porcelain, to gold and silver, embroidery, bamboo, rattan, and weaving.

The names of trade villages and fine artisans have acquired a reputation at home and abroad. Craft village export turnover reached more than US$2.35 billion in 2019. Moreover, despite many difficulties caused by Covid-19, in the first nine months of 2020, exports grew over 10 percent.

In order to implement the national target program on new rural construction, the MoIT has coordinated with ministries and localities on programs to encourage and support traditional crafts but modernize their production and marketing.

The ministry has also presided and coordinated with agencies, units, associations and localities on implementing nearly 400 projects and tasks with a budget of VND75 billion within the framework of the “Buy Vietnamese Goods” campaign.

As one of the fine art cooperatives in Hanoi’s Van Phuc silk village, the Vun Art Cooperative attaches great importance to participating in the MoIT’s trade promotion programs. According to Le Viet Cuong, Chair of the Ha Dong District Association for People with Disabilities and the founder of Vun Art, the cooperative’s products have achieved four stars in the One Commune One Product (OCOP) Program of the Hanoi People’s Committee.

Thanks to its active participation in supply-demand connection events, and its unique products, Vun Art’s products are well received by consumers and also provide jobs for 20 local residents.

In order to encourage enterprises and artisans that contribute to the development of craft villages and rural industries, the MoIT awards prizes to entrepreneurs, businesses, organizations and individuals.

A stable distribution system

In addition to implementing solutions to connect supply with demand, to find stable markets for craft village products, the MoIT also focuses on building fixed points of sale for handicraft products.

According to statistics from the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, over 100 pilot models of selling Vietnamese goods have been built since 2014. These are considered effective commodity distribution points, where regional and local specialties and typical fine art products are displayed in order to increase consumption in association with tourism promotion. Specifically, Vietnamese points of sale associated with the promotion of regional and local specialties in Lao Cai, Ha Giang and other provinces have increasingly attracted tourists and local consumers. In the context of the Covid-19 outbreak and the resulting obstacles to exports, the introduction of fine art handicraft products into the points of sale has contributed to increased revenues and eased some of the difficulties experienced by artisans and manufacturers.

Economic efficiency, trade promotion, supply-demand connections and effective advertisement have helped maintain and increase the number of production households and workers in the villages. Furthermore, the promotion, development and building of brand name for fine art handicraft villages yield social benefits, such as creating jobs, reducing unemployment in rural areas, and improving incomes.