Nine traditional craft villages in Ho Chi Minh City will be
preserved and developed under a city programme that will last until
2015.
The assessment made for the programme is that four of them
do not have capability to develop on their own and needs government
support.
They are Thai My village that makes bamboo baskets and
furniture in Cu Chi District, Xuan Thoi Son in Hoc Mon District which
produces bamboo baskets, incense-making Le Minh Xuan in Binh Chanh
District, and salt making Ly Son village in Can Gio District.
Four
others which can develop independently and sustainably are Xuan An Loc
flower and ornamental tree village in District 12, Thu Duc flower and
ornamental tree village in Thu Duc District, Tan Thong Hoi in Cu Chi
District that produces bamboo screens, and rice paper making Phu Hoa
Dong also in Cu Chi.
One village is planned to be built on an area
of 10-15ha in the Cu Chi Plant Garden along the Dong Canal to
breed ornamental fish and offer tourism services.
The programme also aims at environmental protection and promoting traditional values.
The city government will help the villages develop infrastructure,
train human resources, and use technology for production and protecting
the environment.
The villages will also be provided with assistance in researching and promoting markets at home and abroad.
The city has solicited investment from all sources for preserving the villages, especially those are tourism attractions.
The city has 19 craft villages that employ 14,241 people earning an
average of 38.9 million VND (1,800 USD) a year, according to the
Sub-department of Rural Development. Some salt and rice paper producing
villages hire up to 60 percent of the local workforce.
But the
development of the city’s craft villages remains unplanned and they
continue to use backward technologies and equipment. More than 80
percent of craftsmen do not have the resources to improve the
technologies they use or expand production.
The designs and packaging of products made in these villages lack sophistication, affecting their competitiveness.
Almost 70 per cent of the heads of households making the products lack
formal training and managerial skills. Only 2.6 percent of them have a
university degree.
The villages have also failed to tackle the pollution they cause.-VNA