Visiting Ma Chau 5 years ago, one could hear the sounds of weaving looms in every corner of the village. Silk weaving gave the villagers a comfortable life. Elderly artisan Nguyen Thuy recalls that most of local households were involved in this trade, which has been passed down from generation to generation. She said that the craft saw its strongest development about 20 years ago when the whole village earned its living by weaving.

 In that period, many households in Ma Chau invested a lot of money in automatic weaving machines, producing around 20 million meters of cloth to be sold across the country. Since 2008, the village has experienced a decline and was even on the verge of bankruptcy due to increasing prices of materials and a decrease in demand. “We can’t obtain loans from banks due to high interest rates and falling demand. Only 30% of the villagers still cling to this trade”, Nguyen An - a son of Artisan Nguyen Thuy said.

 Many families in Ma Chau have sold their weaving machines and closed down their businesses. Local Luong Cong Nghia, who owns a weaving workshop couldn’t hide his emotion: “We used to have no time to rest. But at this moment, our workshop has nothing on the weekend. The profit we earn does not pay the interest on our bank loan and we aren’t receiving as many orders as before”.

 It is heart-breaking for Nguyen Thuy and his peers to see the villagers selling their weaving machines and looms. Thuy says silk products have brought fame to Ma Chau and offered them a good life and his family will stick to the craft no matter what happens.

By To Tuan