At the end of May, the working atmosphere at votive paper making households in Bao Ha commune is bustling.
In the yards, porches or small workshops, people diligently weave bamboo frames, paste paper, and create shapes for products to serve religious and spiritual needs.
Bao Ha has long been known as a land with Bao Ha Temple - a famous spiritual tourist destination attracting many tourists from all over.
Along with the development of tourism and belief activities, the votive paper making profession has also gradually formed and become a livelihood for many households.
Reporters' records show that the work of making votive paper does not require modern machinery but requires meticulousness and skill in each stage. From splitting bamboo, knitting frames, cutting paper to pasting and completing products are all done manually.
In the house filled with the colors of paper, many workers take advantage of idle farming time to complete orders. Elderly people, women or workers with free time can participate in production, creating additional income for their families.
Ms. Pham Thi Mo - Director of Bao Ha General Production and Service Cooperative - said that the votive paper making profession was formed in 2010. However, for a long time, households mainly operated individually, so the output was unstable.
By August 2025, we decided to establish a cooperative to connect members, create a stable source of goods to supply to the market inside and outside the province. Currently, the cooperative has nearly 30 members participating in weaving, pasting paper and jobs related to joss paper production," Ms. Mo said.
According to Ms. Mo, the income of members currently reaches 6-8 million VND per month. This is a stable income level for people, especially when work can be done right at home.
People can both farm and take advantage of making votive paper to increase income. We hope the locality creates conditions to open vocational training classes, attract new members, and develop more products to serve temples, pagodas and religious activities," Ms. Mo shared.
Starting from business and trading activities around Bao Ha Temple area, cooperative members realize that the demand of tourists for votive paper products is increasing.
This is both an opportunity for economic development and helps create sustainable livelihoods for local people.
Not only serving the needs in Bao Ha, many products of the cooperative have now been consumed in other localities in the province and some neighboring provinces.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - Director of Bao Ha Commune General Service Center, the locality has a special advantage when owning a famous spiritual tourist area, creating conditions for the weaving and making of votive paper profession to develop through many generations.
The locality has developed a plan to preserve and promote the traditional votive paper making profession. The establishment of the cooperative helps to gather experienced people and skilled artisans to teach to the younger generation," Mr. Thang informed.
Also according to Mr. Thang, most of the weaving materials are utilized from forestry by-products and readily available materials in the locality. This both helps reduce production costs and creates jobs for rural workers.
In the coming time, Bao Ha commune will continue to orient to improve product quality and expand production scale.
In addition to items serving beliefs, the commune also encourages the development of handicraft weaving products to serve daily life, meeting the increasing demand of the market.
