Hue sees surprising blacksmithing revival
Men who grew up in rural areas usually
seek office jobs, avoiding the hard manual work their parents did.
Tien pauses for an afterschool photo
in his blacksmith’s workshop.
But Huynh The Tien does not want to turn his back on
the traditional blacksmithing work of his father.
His strong will and focussed effort have helped to save
the blacksmiths of Cầu Vực Village in central Thua Thien - Hue Province.
47-year-old man Tien always felt a kinship with
blacksmiths. He helped his father every day during his childhood. Eventually,
he attended college and later became a primary school teacher.
But seeing the craft of blacksmithing dying in his
village made him feel bad.
Products made by blacksmith artisans in his home
village could not compete with the cheap industrial products overwhelming the
market. As a result, almost every artisan in the village quit his job to find
other ways to earn a living.
“I felt pity. Fewer families in the village continued
with blacksmithing since they could not sell their products since the 2000s,”
Tien told local newspapers. He decided to do something before the
blacksmithing craft of his ancestors dies out completely.
Tiến loved the blacksmithing craft, especially the
skills he learned from his father. In 2008, he set up a project to nurture a
comeback of blacksmithing in the village.
First, he opened a blacksmith’s workshop at home with
loans from local banks. He purchased modern equipment to make sharper and
nicer products, compared with those produced by traditional tools.
“I decided to buy industrial equipment, like machine
knives and machine hammers, which produces stronger pressure and is sharper
than tools using hand power."
Industrial welding also replaced coal burning in some
steps of blacksmithing. New designs were created. Gradually products from the
Tien workshop began to sell well in the local market.
Then, Tien gave his designs to others in the village
and worked as an agent to import high quality steel for blacksmiths,
encouraging fellow blacksmiths to adapt to meet the needs of modern times.
Tien’s efforts inspired locals and brought about a
resurgence of blacksmiths and blacksmithing in his village.
By 2014, there were 20 households running family
blacksmithing workshops in the village. This led the Thua Thien - Hue
Province People’s Committee to recognise the community as a Craft Village.
Now Tien works with three apprentices every night at
the workshop after he finishes teaching at Thuy Luong Primary School. Today
some of his products are found throughout the country, including a multi-function
shovel, a ‘smart’ kitchen knife, and other agricultural and fishing tools.
Earlier this month, the committee awarded Tien the
title of “Blacksmith Artisan” and listed him as a local craft artisan.
VNS
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Chủ Nhật, 2 tháng 10, 2016
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