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The making of conical hats in Phu Gia hamlet, Cat Tuong commune. Photo H.T |
Cat Tuong commune in Phu Cat district has three traditional craft villages. It has focused on developing these villages in recent years.
Using the capital from the province’s aid and local budget, Cat Tuong invested more than VND1.3 billion in upgrading the infrastructure, said vice chairman of Cat Tuong commune People’s Committee Le Quang Cong.
Also, a loan of VND200 million was proposed, aiming to help households make conical hats.
Travelling among three craft villages is quite easy. There are now more than 650 households making girdle cakes, incenses, and conical hats in Cat Tuong, let alone other traditional products.
Those who make incenses mainly live in Xuan Quang and Kieu Dong hamlet. Ho Thi Huong, owner of a small business in Xuan Quang, said her business employed only 6 people and it grossed about VND35-40 million in sales monthly.
Phu Gia hamlet is the home of girdle cake craft village and conical hat village. About 400 local people specialize in making girdle cakes and over 350 are making conical hats. Compared to the conical hat craft village, girdle cake one is quite busier for girdle cakes often sell well.
Developing craft villages in Cat Tuong not only creates jobs for many people but help farmers earn more after the harvest time. The commune’s craft villages have contributed VND8 billion per year, accounting for 44 percent of the local turnover.
Craft villages are developing thanks to the upgrade of infrastructure, but their development is not stable for the products have no brand names and the promotion hasn’t been carried out.
Alongside these, the loan with low interest rate is still limited; thus, the locals couldn’t focus on handicrafts whole-heartedly.
At present, the local authority has made every effort to build trade names of traditional products, boost the promotion, and propose more loan projects, aiming to help the locals improve their products and seek more markets.
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