Delta handicrafts survive crisis thanks to modern machinery

      Handicraft villages in the Mekong Delta are thriving despite a drop in local and international sales.
The use of modern machines to improve productivity and income has helped the industry to survive, according to many villagers.
Bui Van Mot, chairman of Hung Nhuong Ward People’s Committee in Ben Tre Province’s Giong Trom District, said many food items were no longer made by hand and easily met safety and hygiene standards.
The district is famous for making Son Doc rice chips. Son Doc rice chip co-operative employs 21 permanent workers and 10 seasonal makers who all earn more than VND100,000 (US$5.7) a day.
Dang Thanh Hai, head of the co-operative, said the large chips had become a popular snack in HCM City, Ha Noi and Hue.
Between 50,000 and 60,000 rice chips are made each day. They sell for VND3,000-15,000 for a packet containing 10 chips.
Like those in rice chip-making villages, villagers in Lap Vo District’s Dinh Yen Ward now use machines to make straw mats.
Truong Van Phuong, who was given a soft loan to buy a new machine, said productivity had doubled.
One machine could weave six to eight of mats a day, he said.
The mats sell for VND70,000 ($4) each enabling mat-makers to earn VND100,000 a day.
Many buyers said the machine-made mats were more beautiful and durable than handmade ones.
Business is so good that few mats are kept in inventory. Most are sold in provinces in the Mekong Delta.
However, some customers question the authenticity of "handmade" if the products lose their personal touch. But craftspeople say portions of the products are still made by hand.
While many handicraft villages have switched to machines, the Chau Phong brocade village in An Giang Province’s Tan Chau District, which still makes items by hand, aims to attract new customers.
Despite the strong growth of a modern weaving industry and an increasing number of competitors, the village’s brocade products remain popular.
However, Chau Phong brocade nose faces competition with products imported from Thailand that sell for one-third the price of local products.
The management board of the Chau Giang Co-operative is now targeting local and foreign customers to try and maintain sales growth.
Chau Phong brocade products and six other kinds of traditional handicrafts made in the Mekong Delta were part of an exhibit on the delta culture organised by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC in 2007.
More than 50 types of brocade products can be purchased in tourism areas, hotels and fairs in the Delta and HCM City, and provide 200 people with a living.