Central province withdraws mat weaving certificate from 500 year old village

Craftsmen and women make rush mats on a manual loom in a village in Quảng Nam Province. The province has withdrawn a craft recognition certificate from the 500 year old An Phước village for poor regulations and standards. VNS Photo Công Thành

QUẢNG NAM – The central province of Quảng Nam has withdrawn a craft village recognition certificate for An Phước mat weaving village in Duy Xuyên District, as the village failed to retain standards and criteria for years.

The provincial people’s committee said the village no longer produced actual craft products with traditional hand-made skills and qualifications, while the number of artisan, senior craftsmen and young generations of the craft had faded and no more activities of the craft education or promotion have been organised.

The craft recognition certificate had given to the village in 2004, but the village could not retain regulations of the certificate in terms of production, craftsmen, manpower and education programmes for the younger generation of craftsmen.

An Phước Village, which has a history of 500 years making rush mats, was once busy with hand made crafts, with 200 looms and 400 artisans. Producing the mats created 20 per cent of its revenue for the village.

However, poor sales and low incomes, together with a lack of development plans, had reduced production, with craftsmen earning just VNĐ20,000 (US$0.8) to VNĐ40,000 (US$1.6) per day, according to Đặng Bá Thịnh, who lives in the village.

The area for rush plantation was depleted due to increasing urbanisation, while serious salt water intrusion had occurred due to climate change and high rising sea level.

The province also asked the authorities of Duy Xuyên district to review production and existence of other crafts villages in the area on the practice of the craft recognition.

According to data there are three other rush mat weaving villages in the province – Thạch Tân in Tam Kỳ City, Bàn Thạch in Duy Vinh commune of Duy Xuyên and Triêm Tây of Điện Phương commune of Điện Bàn Town.

In total the Province has 26 craft villages including carpentry, brocade weaving, seafood processing, silk weaving, bronze cast, rice noodle making and pottery, registered between 2004-2013.

Two new crafts, hammock weaving from the tree bark (Firmiana colorata) and the craft of making houses from bamboo and nipa-palm in Chàm Islands and Cẩm Thanh commune in Hội An – have been promoted as national intangible heritage. VNS