Ha Thi Ha Chi showcases products from Tong Dau Cooperative, Mai Chau’s Tong Dau commune, at a 2024 competition on women’s entrepreneurship and green transition.
Preserving the colours of local mountains and forests
Born in Tong Dau commune, Mai Chau district, Chi grew up surrounded by looms, dyed fabrics, and the intricate patterns of brocade weaving. Although her family encouraged her to pursue law due to the challenges of the traditional craft, her passion for preserving the ethnic heritage led her back home after four years of study in Hanoi.
"I have always been proud of my hometown’s brocade weaving, as I see little places keeping such a unique cultural identity. While in Hanoi, I attended silk-making and natural dyeing workshops and realised that many ethnic brocade products were well-known, but the ones made by the Thai ethnic group had yet to receive the same recognition. That’s when I decided to develop our traditional craft, serving both the domestic and international markets. Additionally, I hope that women in my hometown can have stable jobs and better incomes from the traditional craft that has been passed down to them,” Chi shared.
Together with her aunt, she founded the cooperative in November 2023, creating jobs for over 20 local women. The facility produces handmade brocade products, including blankets, pillowcases, tablecloths, aprons, wallets, and bookmarks, all crafted using 100% natural materials.
Beyond selling products, the cooperative collaborates with its peers in Lac village and Chieng Chau commune to offer tourists hands-on experiences in natural dyeing with the local tuber Dioscorea cirrhosa and weaving with traditional looms. These activities help promote the district’s cultural tourism and introduce Thai ethnic heritage to domestic and international visitors.
Bringing Thai brocade to the world
The cooperative’s deputy director, Chi, is not limited by traditional business models. She has embraced digital platforms to expand Tong Dau’s reach, building a website, social media presence, and selling on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and TikTok. Notably, she has listed Thai brocade products on international marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy, allowing local artisans to access global customers.
In 2024, Chi participated in a competition on women’s entrepreneurship and green transition, organised by the Vietnam Women's Union. Focusing on the preservation and development of traditional thai weaving and dyeing in a sustainable way, integrated with community-based tourism in Mai Chaum, her project won a regional consolation award among participants from the North.
A major milestone came when she personally brought Tong Dau products to Milan, Italy, for the AF-L'ARTIGIANO IN FIERA 2024 international handicrafts fair. As part of Vietnam’s national pavilion, her products were showcased alongside over 10,000 exhibitors from Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa. The prestigious event, held from November 30 to December 8 last year, attracted over 1 million visitors.
No success is easy, especially for a mountainous province like Hoa Binh, which still faces many difficulties. In the process of economic restructuring, the locality encounters various challenges, ranging from weak infrastructure, ineffective investment attraction, to barriers in awareness. However, it has taken effective solutions to overcome obstacles hindering economic development.
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