Ornamental stone making village of Soi hamlet gets bustling

10/14/2022 - 7:50:10 AM

(HBO) – The ornamental stone making village of Soi hamlet in Phu Thanh commune, Lac Thuy district, is now in the busiest time of the year. From early morning until late evening, local artisans apply themselves to creating and sculpting works from natural stones.

Pham Van Xuan (standing), head of the ornamental stone making village of Soi hamlet in Phu Thanh commune (Lac Thuy district), introduces some handicrafts made from natural gemstones.

Since the third quarter of 2022, Xuan Lan production establishment of Pham Van Xuan has been transformed into Khai Xuan Artistic Stone Co. Ltd, which specialises in cutting and carving stones. Xuan is also acting as head of the ornamental stone making village of Soi hamlet at present.

He said the village took shape in 2001 thanks to predecessors’ idea. An advantage of this village is that it is surrounded by limestone mountains – a source of material supply. At that time, local residents learnt stone carving techniques from one another and then from books, newspapers, and social networks to improve skills to meet the market’s growing demand.

In December 2015, Soi hamlet was officially recognised as a craft village. There are now 68 member households with more than 200 workers from Hoa Binh and neighbouring provinces, generating monthly per capita income of 6.5 - 15 million VND (270 - 620 USD) on average.

It is encouraging that the village has secured stable sale of its products. Even amid complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, its activities remained uninterrupted and products were still sold well.

Xuan noted that except for three months of the rainy season, the village is continuously busy from September to May in the following year. Its products have become popular among buyers thanks to meeting consumer tastes and producers’ flexible moves to advertise products. Before the pandemic broke out, local stone products had been exported to some countries like Germany, the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China.

Stone products are made in an extremely meticulous manner as every step is done by hand and time-consuming, requiring passion and patience from artisans.

Local artisans said thanks to experience and the acquisition of new knowledge, their products are increasingly diverse and sophisticated. The value of each product depends on gemstone colour, stone maturity, artistic features, as well as artisans’ skills and creativity.

The craft village is currently home to 18 major establishments and 10 businesses producing and trading ornamental stone. Aside from selling products to visitors, locals have also stepped up the sale on online marketplaces, thus also winning strong support from buyers in the southern region./.

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