Sustainable development for craft villages

Thang An 4 — Thang An Commune has combined the cultural characteristics of craft villages with experiential activities to create unique tourism products. Photo: QUANG VIET

Community tourism associated with craft villages

"First is Cua Khe fish sauce, second is An Phu tea", the song reminds of the product of Cua Khe fish sauce village (Thang An commune, Da Nang city) which has been famous for hundreds of years and is loved by many people.

The craft village currently has about 60 households participating in preserving the craft. Cua Khe village also has a beautiful coastline, about 5km long with abundant seafood resources. The people here still preserve coastal cultural features such as the death anniversary of the fish sauce industry, the fishing festival, and the performance of the boat race.

Combining those values, the locality has built a model of community tourism development associated with preserving and promoting cultural values in the traditional fish sauce craft village of Cua Khe.

Cua Khe Fish Sauce Village Community Tourism Cooperative has combined the cultural characteristics of the craft village with experiential tourism activities, creating unique tourism products, ensuring sustainable development, bringing stable livelihoods to the people.

Mr. Hoang Van Tuu, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thang An commune, said that up to now, developing community tourism associated with preserving and promoting cultural values in the traditional fish sauce craft village of Cua Khe has brought many results.

three give — Tourists visit and admire the Ba Trao singing and dancing performance in Thang An commune. Photo: QUANG VIET

The craft village preserves the traditional fish sauce making process, introduces tourists to the history, fish sauce making techniques, and the significance of the profession in the cultural life of the people. The fishing village culture is exploited through many activities such as basket boat riding, fishing, singing, etc. The local government and people have joined hands to build an attractive story about Cua Khe craft village to help tourists love this land more.

“We have introduced the specialties of the village to help visitors enjoy the typical flavors of local cuisine . Recreational activities on the sea such as swimming, boating, fishing, and folk games bring excitement to visitors. Homestay services create a cozy accommodation space, allowing visitors to blend in with nature and local culture,” said Mr. Tuu.

For sustainable development

According to the Department of Rural Development of Da Nang city, there are many craft villages in the area that have truly stood firm and developed in the market mechanism.

However, in general, the city's craft villages have small, scattered and fragmented production scale. Equipment and technology are still outdated, labor productivity is low, product quality and design do not meet the increasingly demanding tastes of consumers. Workers' skills have not been focused on training. The environment in craft villages has not received due attention. Production space and capital are urgent needs of craft villages. The consumer market is still narrow, craft village brands and product promotion have not been invested adequately...

These are barriers that are not easy to overcome for sustainable development, contributing to the city's socio-economic development.

check — Foreign tourists experience growing vegetables with farmers in Tra Que vegetable village. Photo: QUOC TUAN

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Vu, Deputy Director of the City Department of Agriculture and Environment, said that to create a boost for the development of craft villages in the coming time, it is necessary to combine community tourism with the preservation and promotion of traditional craft villages, this is an important direction.

In fact, in the city, there are many successful community tourism models that have brought about clear results in developing craft villages. At Tra Que vegetable craft village (Hoi An Tay ward), travel companies have organized tours for visitors to experience growing vegetables with farmers, both developing tourism and promoting the Tra Que clean vegetable brand, bringing in a good source of income for farmers. Non Nuoc stone carving craft village (Ngu Hanh Son ward) attracts a large number of visitors to visit, experience, and buy souvenirs...

Preserving and developing traditional craft villages not only preserves cultural identity but also creates jobs, increases income for people, and promotes socio-economic development.

According to the city's Rural Development Department, the important solution is to have a master plan for craft villages, in harmony with the environment and other plans.

Developing craft villages needs to be associated with environmental protection, ensuring production activities do not cause pollution, and stabilizing the landscape to attract tourists.

There is a great need for training programs to pass on skills and production secrets to the younger generation, ensuring inheritance for the development of craft villages.

Along with that is implementing trade promotion activities, promoting craft village products, building brands, and finding export markets.

According to statistics from the City's Rural Development Department, the province has 39 craft villages; of which Non Nuoc stone carving craft village was formed more than 400 years ago and was recognized by the City People's Committee in 2014. Currently, the craft village has 1 folk artisan, 3 excellent artisans, and 4 artisans recognized by the city. The craft village has about 384 stone carving production establishments with more than 1,250 workers participating in production and business with an average total value of goods of 372 billion VND/year.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/phat-trien-ben-vung-cho-lang-nghe-3297152.html