WATER HYACINTH HANDICRAFT VILLAGE

Located in the remote area of Hậu Giang province, the water hyacinth handicraft village has existed for over 20 years and becomes the extra income for the locals, especially the women here.

Even though not having many water hyacinths drifting on the canals of the village, the locals with their creativeness and diligence bring the fame of the village to the whole Mekong delta.

There are 70 families in the village and together they build up a handicraft village and even get the certificate as the experts for making handicrafts from water hyacinth. Right here, they buy the dried water hyacinth from other areas of the Mekong delta and weave them into unique and fantastic products such as hats, purses, bags, carpets, and even some small tables and chair for tea party. And these products will be transported to the areas around Saigon for the further advanced process to preserve them and then, they will be exported to other countries.

When they start working, the women usually gather at a specific house, so then they can talk to each other while doing their job. And the men are in charge of loading and transporting the products to the trucks.

The wages from the water hyacinth might not be much, but it is the extra income for the locals to make ends meet. Nowadays, with the huge demand from the market, the locals will maintain this stable wages. The products from water hyancinth have now been present in many countries all around the world and carry the culture of the Vietnamese to international friends. And in the future, if there are tourists visiting the village, that can be another good income and somehow might help the lives here better.