Traditional village finds going smooth as silk

Tag : Shirts Silk
Tremendous government support and modern practices have placed avillage of silk artisans near Hanoi firmly in the modern era.

The foreign woman enters a shop in Van Phuc silk village near Hanoiwith obvious relish and snaps up a trendy silk gown and dresses,robes, suits, tunics and shirts in a myriad of hues and styles.
Marissa Ivrin, who is American, makes a beeline for the shopswhenever she accompanies her husband on business trips to Vietnam.
I buy a lot here, she says.
Collections at shops in California are not up-to-date.
Tourists from Europe, the US and Japan are not averse to shellingout US$10 or more for a meter of quality silk.
However, local people, who have an average annual income of around$800, too are becoming regular customers of the villages shops.
We receive hundreds of visitors everyday, a shop owner, NguyenThi Ha, says.
At weekends and holidays, the figure is much higher, she adds,rearranging piles of various kinds of silk, some darker, somelighter, and almost all in eye-catching colors.
The middle-woman in an elegant calf-length dress with gold lotuspatterns hires five seamstresses who turn meters of high-qualitysilk into works of art that are worthy of a catwalk.
Van Phuc, known as Vietnams silk hub, has more than 100 shops likeHas besides tailor shops.
They, together with similar shops in Hanois old quarter  on HangBong, Hang Gai, Hang Trong and Bao Khanh streets  have helped thevillages silk artisans sell their works.
The village annually sells some two million meters of silk.
Last year revenues were over VND40 billion ($2.5 million), chairmanof the Van Phuc Silk Weaving Cooperative, Nguyen Van Hung, says.
Van Phuc silk is also shipped to many countries, including the US,Britain, France and Germany.
Our exports are still modest, accounting for only 30 percent oftotal sales, Hung says.
The governments policies on craft village development and VanPhucs own efforts have helped it make progress in the currentcompetitive business environment, he says, adding life for thevillages residents has improved significantly.
The village no longer has poor people, and most households haveTVs, fridges and washing machines.
With an average monthly income of more than VND5 million ($310),we can live on our traditional occupation, Nguyen Huy Tuan, ownerof a small weaving workshop, says.
To boost both domestic and overseas sales, Van Phuc focuses onmarketing, diversification of products, and quality improvement.
Hung says it has set up a website, takes part in trade fairs andincreased advertising in the local media.
We have participated in 23 trade fairs at home and abroad in thelast three years. We have distributed hundreds of thousands ofleaflets and brochures.
Van Phuc is working hard to diversify and improve quality.
Tuan says, We pay attention to varying models, colors and stylesto suit customers tastes.
Van Phuc silk, used to make costumes for stage performances andtraditional festivals, is already a part of the daily life ofpeople of all ages.
The village is upgrading production facilities to improve quality.
Most establishments have replaced handlooms with electric weavingmachines.
Hung says, Van Phuc has more than 1,000 power-operated looms,producing over 2.5 million meters of silk each year, adding thatmany households have 15-30 of these machines.
Many weavers even use computers to design garments instead of doingit manually.
Using computers can shorten the time it takes to design somecomplicated patterns from 20 to six days, Hung says.
Van Phuc realizes the importance of not diluting its prestige.
Despite rising costs, we are determined not to compromise onquality or increase prices, he says.
The government, which considers development of craft villages aneffective way to reduce poverty, has helped them get bank loans oneasy terms to upgrade production facilities and technologies, andtrain human resources.
It has also encouraged state-owned firms and small- andmedium-sized enterprises to help craft villages access advancedtechnologies and equipment and find more outlets through businessand production cooperation.
With such support, Van Phuc, where around 800 of its more than1,500 households produce silk, is confident of sustaining anddeveloping its traditional occupation.
Reported by Thai Thanh Van