Global downturn spells disaster for craft villages

Ha Tay (VNA) - Traditional crafts, which rely heavily on orders from
abroad, have become the latest victims of the global economic meltdown, with
workshops being shut down, businesses going bust, and workers losing jobs.

The collapse of these crafts, which have become inter-twined with the life
of local people for hundreds of years, is causing repercussions in many
villages.

Pham Quoc Khanh, chairman of the erstwhile Ha Tay's Association of Bamboo
and Rattan Products, said the industry has suffered a 90 percent plunge in
orders since last year.

In Chuong My District, now in Hanoi , which is noted for its bamboo and
rattan products, the long line of container trucks busy loading goods for
export is no longer a common sight.

The district alone has hundreds of businesses and thousands of households
involved in the multi-billion-dollar industry, according to official
figures.

The same fate has befallen the carpentry industry in Dong Ky village in
Bac Ninh province to the northeast of Hanoi .

Vu Duc Ton, director of Ton Hoai Furniture Enterprise, said orders from
China , which used to account for 70 percent of his sales, have fallen by
half.

Luu Duy Dan, vice chairman of the Association of Handicraft Villages, said:
"Exports of handicrafts were worth 714 million USD last year. The industry
is a massive employer, hiring up to 10 million people, making it a crucial
factor in villages' well-being and stability."

Dan estimated half of all handicrafts businesses would go bankrupt by the
end of this year. "The backlash will be quite serious," he warned.

The vitality seems to have been sapped in central Thua Thien - Hue
province's My Xuyen village, whose prestigious wood-carving used to be
abuzz.

But now workshops have been closed down and workers laid off, making 2008
possibly the blackest year in the craft village's history.

"During the peak season last year, every month I exported several containers
earning thousands of dollars," Le Van Man, owner of Hoa Binh wood-carving
enterprise, recalled wistfully.

"Workers lined up to apply for jobs".
"All of a sudden, the crisis erupted. Our clients gradually scaled down
orders and we continuously incurred losses until we had to shut down."

The workshop of Le Thua Bang, one of Man's neighbours, has fared no better.
Pointing to his rusted, cobwebbed machines, Bang said he has not sold a
single lot this year and can only look forward to the market recovering to
resume production.

My Xuyen's wood-carving craft dates back over 300 years and in its heyday
used to provide jobs to most of its residents. But today the industry
workforce has dwindled to a fifth.

Most craftsmen have left for big cities or even to Laos and Thailand
to seek their livelihood.

Hoang Khanh, the village's most senior artisan, is sad about this loss.

"It pains me to see my students give up the traditional craft that our
forebears built up over many centuries, he said.-Enditem