Sculpture on the Top

Dong Quang Commune has three villages; namely, Trang Liet, Binh Ha and Dong Ky. The population is about 20,000 people, including more than 13,000 Dong Ky villagers. The villagers of Dong Quang make a living on wood sculptures, but the Dong Ky name is the most popular. Up to 96 per cent of Dong Ky households rely on wood sculpture.

 

If you visit Dong Ky for the first time, you will be certainly surprised at the densely packed buildings with a wide variety of architectures. Many compare them with rich streets in Hanoi City, because hundreds of companies and showrooms are present in the village, in the famous ancient Kinh Bac land.

 

Mr Nguyen Van Quang, Party Secretary of Dong Quang Commune, said the village has up to 200 wooden furniture companies. These companies not only generate high incomes (averaging VND1.7 million a month) for more than 7,000 local workers, but also for nearly 3,000 people in neighbouring communes.

 

Pointing to Viet Ha Company, Quang said: “The local authority has given 5,000 ha of land for this company to expand production. Do you know who made the tables and chairs for National Convention Centre and Government Office? It’s Viet Ha Company. The tables and chairs in local government offices are also made by that company. The director of that company is possibly taking the lead in the current director community in Dong Ky village.” Mr Quang added that many companies like Nam Thang, Hung Long and Thanh Dat also have hundreds of workers and are helping enrich this land.

 

Mr Nguyen Van Khanh, General Director of Viet Ha Company, said Dong Ky companies grew from small scale businesses, but now they are able to manufacture highly artistic and culturally specific products. Reproductions of ancient and royal tables, chairs and beds not only serve local demand, but are also exported to many countries around the world. Khanh said Chinese people, who are very choosy in wooden furniture, praised Dong Ky wood furniture. The Puchai commercial region (Guangxi Provicne) has some 400 wooden furniture shops, but more than 300 of them are owned by Vietnamese and most are from Dong Ky. In addition to China, Dong Ky products have also been exported to Japan, Singapore, France, Italy, Russia and others.

 

His company has the lowest ratio of export, but still, 60 per cent of output is shipped abroad.

 

You can hear the busy and noisy working atmosphere when you move along the village roads. The sound of chisels and saws is always ringing through the village. Mr Quang happily said farming land in Dong Ky is limited, just 300 square metres per person. But thanks to carpentry, local living standards have significantly improved. Many have revenues of hundreds of billions of VND a year. No one in Dong Ky suffers from hunger, while the poor are only in the dozens. With higher living standards, locals give more attention to education for their children. Education has been tuition-free through secondary school since 2002.

 

At a workshop in the middle of the village, artisan Nguyen Van Huy said his carved chair is only for high-profile figures from the provincial governor upward. Experienced persons like Mr Huy are paid VND4-5 million a month. Young workers are paid lower, from VND2.5-3 million. Workers of simple jobs are paid VND1.5 million a month, still a big sum in the rural farming area. Therefore, all are devoted to their work. No one fears unemployment as the work is always available. In the far end of the village, there is an active job market, as in Hanoi.

 

Dong Ky Village is famous for its riches from carpentry and sculpture.