Son Dong gets rich with statue carving

During the “harvest”, from the seventh month to the fourth month of the next year, tourists will find statues of Buddha and objects of worship around the commune. About 80% of 1,800 households work on jobs involved with the craft. The village has about 4000 workers in the high season.
Nguyen Tri Quang, owner of Quang Dai statue manufacturing unit opened in 1975, said his unit has 30 main workers at a salary of VND1.2 to VND2.5 million plus dozens of workers in the high season at a salary of VND800,000 to VND1 million.
Quang’s grandfather was an art student at university when he taught and handed down the craft to the village, Quang said, adding that he and his three brothers now have become large enterprises.
The products of the village are in great demand this year so almost all units opened last week instead of next month to enjoy the annual village festival (on the sixth day of the lunar February), said Thu, a talented artisan from Viet Tien manufacturing unit.
Son Dong produces primarily statues of Buddha, doors for temples, parallel sentences and ornaments for temples and pagodas. They are made mainly made from jackfruit wood which is hundreds years old, as well as other kinds of wood and even from clay.
Son Dong products are on sale around the country, including at Bao Son Park, an entertainment and tourist park in Hoai Duc District, Hanoi. They are also exported to France, the USA and Russia. Last year, a group of artisans from Son Dong were invited to the Ukraine to built a pagoda and make objects of worship for the Vietnamese community in the country.
The process for making the statues in Son Dong is complicated and meticulous. Each product is a work of talent, love, patience and time.