An Hiep Nhon Thanh Mat Weaving Village: The Ben Tre region is known for its large, lush coconut gardens. Ben Tre has many craft villages. Besides the village making rice paper, the village making coconut candy, the village making handicrafts from coconut trees, the village making wine, there are mat-weaving villages, of which Nhon Thanh, An Hiep, and Thanh Thoi B villages are the most famous.
General Information about An Hiep Nhon Thanh Mat Weaving Village in Ben Tre
- How long to spend there: 1.5 hours
- Where: An Hiep, Nhon Thanh, Ben Tre province.
- Must to Know: I’m hoping for a successful future for this artisan village since it helps to conserve the distinctive traditional cultural qualities of the community while also generating economic benefits and employment for locals.
- What to see around? Looking for places to stop on your trip to and from the An Hiep mat weaving villages (Ben Tre)?
- Vien Minh Pagoda (24 km),
- Thoi Son Island (21 km),
- Ben Tre Coconut Candy (17 km),
- Ben Tre City (12 minutes),
- Son Doc Rice Paper Village (27 minutes),
- Ben Tre Brick Factory (2 km),…
An Hiep Nhon Thanh Mat Weaving Village in Ben Tre
An Hiep Nhon Thanh Mat Weaving Village – Must to Know
Mat weaving has been practiced in this area for a very long time and contributes to the stability of many homes in the commune. Traders can purchase mats manufactured by Craft Villages on-site, and they can also sell them around the province or provide them to traders to sell in adjacent provinces.
It was certified as a Craft Village with 50 participating houses by the Executive Board of the Vietnam Craft Village Association in 2008. It takes a lot of intricate and laborious effort, from selecting raw materials to drying and weaving, to make a beautiful and long-lasting mat.
In the 1950s, a Hiep handicraft village was established, and despite decades of growth marked by numerous ups and downs, the art of traditional mat weaving has endured. Unlike Ca Mau mats, which are woven using sedge, An Hiep mats are made with u vu (a typical plant here). This plant produces considerably more attractive and long-lasting mats than the sedge plant. Along with mat u vu, the locals experiment with a wide variety of different plants, such as sedge mats, water hyacinth mats, etc.
The local traditional mat weaving, however, is quickly disappearing as a result of the market economy and low-cost goods since many households have switched to other occupations. Tours to Ben Tre’s fringes, which now include An Hiep Nhon Thanh commune, have grown significantly in recent years, providing the mat-weaving town with new options. Several homes in the Craft Village have bravely partnered with tour operators to arrange stops and visits for tourists to learn, see, and take pictures.
In the present, An Hiep has developed into a popular tourist site in Ben Tre, complete with distinctive regional features that allow tourists to get a sense of the region’s rich cultural heritage. Along with learning about it, visitors will have the chance to assist the same folks in manufacturing a traditional mat.
In addition to helping to build a new rural area, this project will also provide a distinctive tourism product, link tours to Ben Tre’s periphery, and let river tourism coexist with artisan village tourism, which will help Ben Tre’s economy grow as a result of tourism.
