Making a living in stone dust
Ninh Van fine art stone village is located in Ninh Van commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province, is one of the most famous traditional craft villages in Vietnam with a history of more than 400 years. Since the Le Dynasty, stone carving has been formed and developed here.
From early morning, hundreds of workers have been diligently processing, cutting, chiseling, shaping, and polishing tons of heavy stone blocks. Behind the sophisticated products are the sweat, strength and hardship of craftsmen clinging to the profession to make a living.
Modern machinery has supported some stages, helping workers to be less burdened, and products to be more diverse. However, handicraft techniques, age-old experience and the skillfulness of workers are still irreplaceable.
For the people of Ninh Van stone craft village, behind each valuable product is sweat, effort and years of hard work amidst stone dust and machine noise.
Mr. Tran Van Thuong - a stone maker in Ninh Van - shared: "The fine art stone craft is very hard, requiring health and persistent hard work. With an average income of 8-10 million VND/person/month, we have to face stone dust and noise every day, mostly working outdoors, so hot sunny days are even more difficult. However, for livelihood, many people still cling to the craft.
Hardships for craft villages to reach further
In Ninh Van, many families have been attached to the stone profession for many generations. The profession is passed down from father to son, from generation to generation. Young people grow up with the sound of stone chiseling, familiar with the image of their fathers working on large stone blocks, and then gradually enter the profession as a natural thing.
Mr. Do Van Quang's family - Xuan Phuc village, Nam Hoa Lu ward - is one of the families with many generations of stone processing. According to Mr. Quang, to have a satisfactory product, workers must go through many elaborate and elaborate stages. To live with the profession, first of all, you must have passion, love for stone, love for the profession.
Mr. Quang said that previous generations passed on to their children and grandchildren not only the technique of holding a hammer and chisel, but also forged patience, persistence and meticulousness. Sometimes just a sitting position to chisel, a small operation must be done many times to be proficient. Because with the stone profession, just one mistake can cause the entire product to be damaged, not to mention the possibility of accidents during labor.
“A stone maker not only needs to be healthy but also has keen eyes, skillful hands and high concentration. A misaligned line, an inaccurate touch can lose the value of the entire stone block. The hardship of the profession is therefore not only in sweat and dust, but also in responsibility for each product” - Mr. Quang shared.
Mr. Le Xuan Tinh - Vice Chairman of Nam Hoa Lu Ward People's Committee - said that Ninh Van fine art stone craft village currently has more than 2,000 households, more than 800 production groups and more than 100 businesses engaged in the craft. The craft village creates stable jobs for nearly 2,000 workers, about 80% of whom are local workers, with an average income of 8-10 million VND/person/month. Average revenue reaches more than 200 billion VND per year.
