Unique hundred-year-old mat village in Dong Thap
Formed for more than 100 years, Dinh Yen traditional mat weaving village (Dinh Yen commune, Lap Vo district, Dong Thap province) is one of the craft villages recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Let's explore with King Craft Viet.
Keeping the tradition
Located next to the Hau River, Dinh Yen mat village is considered a land of "natural time, favorable terrain, human harmony". Endowed with fertile soil, the vast fields that surround the Mekong Delta are an ideal source of raw materials for the development of mat weaving. With skillful hands, diligence, creativity, distilling the good and the beautiful, Dinh Yen people gradually create the famous "Dinh Yen mat" brand near and far.
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Since the 1920s, mat weaving in Dinh Yen has flourished, but local raw materials are not enough, so they have to buy more ready-to-drink, dried leaves from other places. Before 1954, thanks to their high quality and reasonable price, Dinh Yen mats were bought and sold by many merchant boats throughout the Mekong Delta and to Cambodia.
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Dinh Yen mat village is not only a livelihood but also a place to preserve, preserve and promote traditional values. Mat weaving is not too difficult, but requires workers to be meticulous and skillful in each stage such as cutting, drying, dyeing and weaving.
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In order to have a beautiful and durable mat, you must first choose the raw material of a very old strabismus, then choose the length of the strabismus to match the size of the mat to be woven. When weaving mats need 2 people to work together, usually when the belt is stretched, the main worker will sit on the frame, the second person will thread each strand into the mold and the main worker will use strong force to press the strabismus to tighten the strabismus together. The stamping action must be decisive, strong enough to align, not stacked leading to broken curls.
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As a person with more than 50 years of experience in the mat weaving industry, Ms. Tran Thi Dinh (in An Loi hamlet, Dinh Yen commune) said: "Dinh Yen mats are famous for being thick, durable, quiet and airy, and at affordable prices. suitable for consumers, so traders from all over the world come to buy every day. A day of hard work, the mat maker can weave from 2 to 3 pairs, depending on the type of mat, white or colored mats and thickness or thin, with selling price from 120,000 to 180,000 VND/pair, per month with an income from 2.2 to 2.5 million VND”.
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Developing traditional occupations associated with tourism
Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha, from An Khuong hamlet, Dinh Yen commune, said: Previously, doing manual work, 2 people only made 5-6 mats/day, so their income was low. work and income much more favorable. Especially, when there are cooperatives and cooperative groups to weave mats, people feel more secure because they don't have to go to the market to sell retail mats like before, the mat products are delivered to the cooperatives to sell.
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"For stable output, beautiful and quality mats, mat weavers must be enthusiastic in the production stages in order to create durable, beautiful products with diverse designs and eye-catching forms," said Ms.Thu Ha
According to Chairman of Dinh Yen Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Minh Chay: Dinh Yen mat village currently has 620 mat weaving machines, 62 mat sewing machines, 2 sewing machines, and 2 product polishing machines with 431 households. living by weaving mats. Every year, the craft village produces and supplies to the market over 1.3 million mats of all kinds, with a total revenue of about 80 billion VND, creating jobs and stable incomes for nearly 3,800 production, trading households and service.
“In addition to the traditional weaving households with looms, in Dinh Yen mat village, a cooperative and 3 mat production and consumption complexes have been established, attracting nearly tens of thousands of idle laborers in the locality and other regions. The neighborhood has jobs for stable income," Mr. Chay added.
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Talking to reporters, Mr. Phan Van Be Tu, Chairman of Thanh Binh Mat Cooperative, added: Previously, Dinh Yen mats were mainly consumed in the Mekong Delta, the Southeast and Ho Chi Minh City. Currently, Dinh Yen mats are also available in Cambodia, Thailand, and Taiwan (China) markets... creating a driving force to promote production activities of people making Dinh Yen mats.
According to Ms. Truong Thi Diep, Vice Chairman of Lap Vo District People's Committee: "In order to preserve and promote the value of traditional products and craft villages to develop in new conditions, Dinh Yen mat village focuses on developing a plan to restore the session. night market, associated with the construction of tours - routes, bringing tourists to visit handicraft villages to promote the Dinh Yen mat brand; and at the same time have appropriate policies to support the development of craft villages…”.
