Ups and downs of the conical hat village by the river

QTO - Born with the formation of the village more than 500 years ago, the conical hat making profession in Van Quy village, Nam Hai Lang commune, has gone through many historical ups and downs. Currently, the craft village has only a few dozen households still maintaining the hat making profession and is making efforts to change designs and materials to suit the needs and tastes of customers. However, with the changes in social life, today's young generation is less interested in the traditional profession of their ancestors. Therefore, the worry of the decline and loss of the hat making profession in Van Quy is always on the minds of the older generation of the village.

Many Van Quy residents are still passionate about their fathers' hat making profession - Photo: D.V

Keep the job

The back yard of Ms. Do Thi Phuong’s house has been a regular place for a group of 7 women in Van Quy village to make conical hats for the past 4 years. This is one of the few conical hat-making groups operating effectively in the locality thanks to its stable source of goods. Ms. Phuong used to do many different jobs before returning to her hometown’s traditional hat-making profession.

“Before, I worked as a rice buyer and a tailor. After I got married, I started making hats. At first, hat sales were stable, but then they gradually slowed down. A few years ago, the local hat industry started to flourish again when hats made from cushions were improved in design, painted with eye-catching flowers and leaves, and became popular in the market,” Ms. Phuong shared.

Because they make orders from companies in the South, each month her group supplies an average of 300 hats (the price of a finished hat with decorations is 200,000 VND/hat). In addition, the women also sew about 200 more hats according to local retail orders and supply them to markets in the region.

Knowing how to make hats at around 10 years old, Ms. Ngo Thi Suong has been involved in the profession for decades. She joined Ms. Phuong’s hat-making group because it provides a stable and regular job. According to her, in the group, each person is responsible for a different stage, from whittling the brim, making the mold, sewing the hat to applying the finishing paint…

For skilled workers, if working full-time, they can make 3 hats per day. “Currently, the hat making profession brings us an income of about 100,000 VND/day. However, there is not much work in the countryside, so the steady income from this profession also helps us cover some of our living expenses,” Ms. Suong confided.

Although Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh does not work permanently in the group, she still makes about 2 hats a day to sell at the market or for acquaintances. According to her, the hat making profession is increasingly difficult to follow. Young people in the village all choose to do other jobs in urban areas, go to the South to work as factory workers or go abroad to work.

“Currently, in the village, only people between 45 and 60 years old still make conical hats. Older people have poor eyesight and shaky hands and cannot make them. Younger people are not interested. Therefore, the conical hat making profession is facing the risk of gradually disappearing…”, Ms. Oanh sighed.

Van Quy village currently has 3 main types of hats: hats made from the tips of wild conical leaves; dried coconut leaf hats and hats made from pre-woven cushions. The type of hat for workers is usually thick, sturdy, cheap and does not pay much attention to aesthetics. Meanwhile, the type of hat for tourists is made from beautiful materials, decorated with patterns, paintings of famous places or sprayed with color paint, so it is more expensive and more beautiful.

Fear of career decline

This year, 75 years old, Mr. Nguyen Van Hien is the only elderly person who still regularly makes conical hat frames in Van Quy village. He said that the conical hat craft has also gone through many ups and downs. In 1968, during the fierce war, the villagers evacuated to Hue and almost left behind their hometowns, the conical hat frames and the tools for making conical hats. Later, at the evacuation site, Mr. Hien's uncle, a skilled conical hat frame maker, rebuilt the frames to help the villagers restore the craft. Mr. Hien was also taught the frame making craft by his uncle from then on, until after liberation, when he returned to his hometown, he continued to follow the craft.

Recalling his village’s hat-making profession, Mr. Hien said: “After 1975, the hat-making profession was profitable because almost everyone wore conical hats. However, in the past 15 years, when a variety of hats and headgear made from other materials appeared on the market, the hat-making profession also began to decline. From more than 80% of households in the village making hats, now only about 10%, or about 20 households, still maintain the profession.”

The designs of conical hats in Van Quy village are currently quite diverse and eye-catching - Photo: D.V

According to Mr. Hien, he used to make too many hat frames. In addition to supplying the village, he also sold to people in neighboring areas who make hats. But now, he only makes a small amount, only making them when someone orders them.

He is concerned that when the younger generation is no longer interested and the older generation is no longer able to do the job, the hat making profession in Van Quy is at risk of being lost. “The hat making profession is not only a way of making a living but also a beautiful traditional cultural feature of Van Quy village. Therefore, if the profession fades away or is lost, it will be a great pity,” Mr. Hien added.

Van Quy village chief Nguyen Huu Long said that in addition to farming, the traditional hat-making profession was once famous far and wide and was a source of livelihood for the people. At one time, the profession was popular, but the hats produced could not keep up with the large market. However, due to changing times and many other reasons, the hat-making profession is now increasingly shrinking.

“The input materials for making hats are quite expensive, while most of the hats are difficult to sell, the price is not high, so the profit is low. In addition, there are not many workers inheriting the hat making profession today. Those are the reasons why we are concerned that the traditional hat making profession of Van Quy village will gradually disappear,” Mr. Long expressed.

Facing the risk of the craft village falling into oblivion, Mr. Long and many local people hope that relevant levels and sectors will support the craft village to improve designs and diversify products; increase promotion, advertising, and find consumer markets so that the craft can be maintained and developed further in the future.

German Vietnamese

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202508/thang-tram-lang-non-ben-dong-ead3b22/