Adding New Vitality for Phu Lang Pottery

With modern color, diverse forms and charming decoration and patterns which still maintain the sturdy style of traditional products, Phu Lang pottery products are exhibiting new vitality.
Located on the southern bank of the Cau River, Phu Lang pottery village (in Que Vo District, Bac Ninh Province) is well-known as northern Vietnamese pottery center. According to village elders, pottery making dates back for about eight centuries. Eel skin glaze is a trademark of Phu Lang pottery products. The typical traditional products include water jar, small coffins, bowls, plates and pots. Phu Lang pottery products used to be extremely popular, especially among farmers all over the country.
However, changes in consumer tastes and out-moded products saw the village lose its popularity. To overcome these difficulties, young people in Phu Lang Village have made enormous efforts to study and improve their products. According to Nguyen Tien Nen, the deputy chairman of the Phu Lang Commune People's Committee, the first person who deserves credit for improving traditional pottery products is Vu Huu Nhung, a young artisan. Based on traditional eel skin glaze combined with diverse forms, Vu Huu Nhung has created attractive fine art pottery products which continue to preserve the popularity of traditional Phu Lang pottery.
After a decade, Phu Lang fine art pottery has strongly developed with many types of products, including flower vases, pot, decorative items, wine bottles and lampstands which are decorated with lotuses, landscapes, pagodas, old streets and different shapes. Apart from the domestic market, Phu Lang pottery products are becoming better known all over the world. Businesses from Japan, Australia, Republic of Korea, Canada and the US have made large orders, and every year, export revenue from 15 fine art pottery production facilities in Phu Lang village totals more than VND5 billion. The development of pottery production has led to improved living standards. In 2000, the income per capita of Phu Lang people was just VND10 million per year. This figure increases to VND15 million today.
However, according to Nguyen Tien Nen, rapid development has created difficulties in terms of the quality of human resources, challenging the sustainability of the village's craft. At present, apart from 15 artisans who are being trained by Vu Huu Nhung, most of workers in the village can only produce basic products. They are not able to create sophisticated decoration. Workers are trained when producing at workshops, thus the quality and quantity of labor force remains limited. Some production facilities do not dare to take export orders or pass up export orders to other production facilities due to a lack of workers, thus losing opportunities to increase revenue and expand export markets. However many Phu Lang workers want professional training courses in order to continue preserving and promoting Phu Lang's craft, and continue exporting their products all over the world.