Diligently maintaining the profession at the age of 82
There is only more than a week left until the Lunar New Year of Binh Ngo, but inside Mr. Bui Van Tran's house, the sound of saws and saws still echoes. The person who creates that familiar sound every day is Mr. Bui Van Tran (82 years old, residing in Bac Thai village).
I just do it slowly, when I'm healthy, I do it, when I'm tired, I rest, and I'm not in a hurry at all. Doing it is like exercising to improve my health," Mr. Tran shared about his work.
According to Mr. Tran, from a young age he practiced and followed the traditional drum making profession from his father and grandfather. Growing up, he joined the army. After being discharged from the army and returning to his locality, he continued to follow the drum making profession until now.
“In the past, I used to make large drums, more than one meter in diameter, but now I am older and weaker, so I only make small and medium drums for convenience, so as not to bother others to support me,” Mr. Tran confided.
According to Mr. Tran, in 2025, he alone made about 30 drums, selling them also ensured an average monthly income of 7 million - 10 million VND, comfortable for the elderly couple to spend.
Currently, each drum with a diameter of about 30 cm is sold by him for 500 thousand VND - 700 thousand VND, while large drums with a diameter of about 70 cm are sold for about 8 million VND.
Mr. Tran recounted that his family has 3 sons, but currently no one has followed the drum making profession. All are in the freelance trade because it brings better income than the drum making profession.
My children advised me that I am old, so I should rest to be healthy, but I feel that my strength is still working, so I just work. When I am too weak and can't work anymore, then I quit," Mr. Tran confided.
Although he is at an age of rarity, not only does he work at home every day, but occasionally Mr. Tran also drives a motorbike dozens of kilometers to mountainous communes in Ha Tinh such as Huong Son, Huong Khe, Ky Anh to buy jackfruit wood to make drums.
Mr. Tran said that he takes the trouble to go to buy jackfruit wood in people's houses like that to buy cheaper wood, thereby having a better income compared to buying wood from wood wholesale establishments.
Hoping for good output for products
According to Mr. Tran, the Bac Thai drum making village currently has a common concern that the products produced are sold at low prices. Products are mainly sold to small traders doing business in the provincial market (in Thanh Sen ward), so they are often forced to buy at low prices, and then they resell them for high profits.
Also a household that has been in the traditional drum making profession for many years, Mr. Bui Van Trang (67 years old, residing in Bac Thai village) said that he has been in the profession for about 50 years. Previously, Mr. Trang's father also followed the drum making profession.
Currently, each year, Mr. Trang and his wife make about 70 different drums, large and small. In which, the main stages are done by Mr. Trang, his wife only helps to clean the cowhide panels and dry them to make drums.
Mr. Trang recounted that 4 years ago, he made the largest drum with a diameter of 1.4 m and a height of about 1.7 m, selling for 43 million VND. With that drum, at this time it could have been sold for 50 million VND. Such large drums are usually produced on order, if not made, he is afraid of being difficult to sell because the purchase price is quite high.
Mr. Trang's family has 5 children, including 2 daughters and 3 sons. To date, none of his sons have followed his drum making profession.
“Now they are healthy and energetic, so they go to other jobs to earn higher incomes. I believe that later when their health gradually weakens, at the age of 60, they will also follow the drum making profession. Because making drums does not require effort but only diligence and hard work,” Mr. Trang confided.
Mr. Trang also shared that currently Bac Thai drum products are made by families finding consumption outlets themselves, but there is no stable purchasing market. Therefore, what families working here want most is to have stable output for products, reasonable selling prices to improve economic efficiency for workers.
