Economic and social development towards a sustainable direction in Van Lam Embroidery village (Ninh Hai, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh)

Economic and social development towards a sustainable direction in Van Lam Embroidery village (Ninh Hai, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh)

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

INSTITUTE OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCES

-

DO THI HONG THU

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE DIRECTION IN

VAN LAM EMBROIDERY VILLAGE

Major: Vietnamese Studies

Code: 60 31 60

MASTER’S THESIS ABSTRACT

Hanoi - 2011

INDEX

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INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 1: SEVERAL BASIC QUESTIONS OF REASONING AND METHODOLOGY OF VAN LAM TRADE VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT 6

1.1 History of the question study 6

1.2 Concept and features of traditional trade villages 10

1.2.1 Concept of traditional trade village 10

1.2.2 Classification 10

1.2.2.1 Trade villages 10

1.2.2.2 Traditional trade villages 10

1.2.3 Features of traditional trade villages 10

1.2.4 Role of trade villages in economic and social development 11

1.2.5 Sustainable developing trade villages 12

1.3 Factors influencing the formation and development of trade villages 12 1.3.1 Geographical position 12

1.3.2 Demands of the consumers and economic pressure 13

1.3.3 Professional skill level of the artisans and qualified workers; traditional techniques and long-standing experience of trade villages 13

1.3.4 Regulations of trade villages and the government’s policies 13

1.4 Study viewpoints and methods 14

1.4.1 Study viewpoints 14

1.4.2 Study methods 14

Chapter 2: REAL SITUATION OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF VAN LAM EMBROIDERY TRADE VILLAGE (NINH HAI – HOA LU – NINH BINH) 14

2.1 Geographical position and natural condition 14

2.2 Shaping and developing process of the embroidery trade in Van Lam trade 15

2.2.1 History of the embroidery in Vietnam 15

2.2.2 Forming and developing process of Van Lam embroidery village16 2.3 Real situation of economic development 16

2.3.1 Situation of development and number of embroidery businesses 18

2.3.2 Scale and level of growth of the trade village 18

2.3.3 Economic structure 18

2.4 Real situation of social development in the trade village 19

2.4.1 Population and workers 19

2.4.2 Families and lines 20

2.4.3 Relics and landscapes 20

2.4.4 Festival 20

2.4.5 Infrastructures 20

Chapter 3: ORIENTATION AND SOLUTIONS FOR ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY IN VAN LAM EMBROIDERY VILLAGE 21

3.1 Assessing the real situation of development of Van Lam trade village from the sustainable viewpoint 21

3.1.1 Economic effect 21

3.1.3 Environmental meanings 24

3.1.4 Difficulties and challenges in the development of the trade village 24

3.2 Orientation of sustainable development of Van Lam embroidery village (Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province) 24

3.3 Some solutions contributing to sustainably develop Van Lam embroidery 25

3.3.1 Production materials and renovating product designs 25

3.3.2 Consuming markets 25

3.3.3 Investment 25

3.3.4 Land and production premises 26

3.3.5 Developing human resources 26

3.3.6 Protecting trade village environment 26

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS………

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INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Developing trade villages not only transfers the rural economy, contributes to the increase of trade industry density, and reduces the proportion of agriculture, but also conserves national cultural and historical values Developing economy and society in a sustainable way in trade villages is a new direction and a major challenge for many trade villages in the process of industrialization, modernization, and market economy opening Although Van Lam village has a great advantage for trade and tourism development, Van Lam embroidery village is now facing many challenges Therefore, its socio - economic development should be in a sustainable and long-term direction Although Van Lam embroidery products have been present in many countries around the world, in general the development of Van Lam embroidery village still has many limitations The embroidery bases are small and in unprompted development without coordination and combination The work of trademark registration and product quality improvement is still limited, not well exploiting tourism potential of trade villages The market for product consumption is not stable On the other hand, at present and in the coming years, the area of commune’s farmland has declined rapidly The number of people without frequent employment is increasing, putting a greater pressure on labor and job Therefore, in the future, the development of embroidery villages aims to promote the advantages and potentials of a local traditional handicraft Since then, trade villages will be promoted in a sustainable and long-term way, contributing to the transfer of local economy This is an essential requirement and a concern of all levels and sectors in the province

Learning about the traditional embroidery in Van Lam not only sees the rise and fall development of the village, but also contributes to promote local tourism in order to popularize its trade name and preserve a traditional village Hence, I chose the topic

“Economic and social development towards a sustainable direction in Van Lam

embroidery village (Ninh Hai, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh)” for my MA thesis with the instruction

of Prof.Dr Truong Quang Hai I hope that the findings of Van Lam embroidery village will help me learn more about the villages of Vietnam, and the role of trade villages in the country industrialization and modernization process

2 Goals and meanings

Through studying the economic and social development of Van Lam embroidery village, we wish to generally assess the natural and social conditions of Van Lam trade industry; real situation of the trade village (products, consuming market, price, labor force, material source, local policy on this trade village, and the impact of trade village

development on people’s life) From then, we will propose solutions to deal with the social and economic development of Van Lam trade village in a sustainable way

In my thesis, I use the method of area studies to research a trade village of traditional embroidery, connecting its development with tourism activities, and building and developing a tourism form of trade village in Ninh Binh

3 Sources of materials

It can be said that the materials play a very important role in the research work Especially, when doing research on Vietnamese village community, the materials are profound The materials may be in written form, or handed down from generation to generation They would be photos, epitaph, or genealogy However, no matter what the materials are, they should be verified and compared, especially with the unwritten form With Van Lam embroidery village, the materials of the village are not much They mainly exist in unwritten form, theogony, and legends Hence, we have to select and verify collected information, then comparing with written materials, epitaph, and family genealogy

to make accurate and scientific conclusions with specific, clear and coherent quotations

In addition, we cannot disclaim the value of written materials that agencies and individuals have done thorough researches of Van Lam embroidery trade village such as:

Ninh Binh general monograph (2001), Names of villages and communes in provinces in the North of Vietnam (1999); Ancient capitals of Vietnam in the past and at present; Ninh Binh celebrities (2000); Names of villages and communes in Vietnam at the 19 th century (1981); Countryside inspiration; Vietnam traditional crafts and their trade ancestors (2000), and Ninh Binh monograph (2010) Materials archived in the one National Archive Center,

libraries of Ninh Binh province and Hoa Lu district, and works focusing on trade villages were inherited We consider them the suggesting perspectives and orientations in my study

4 Study subject, scale, and methodology

Van Lam embroidery village is selected to be my case studies However, I did not focus on any specific field but the exploitation of the economic and social factors that make

up the look of a Vietnamese traditional village and an age-old handicraft village Therefore, the study subject of the thesis is the Van Lam village space (in Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province) with its compositions such as landscape; natural environment; economic, cultural, and religious activities; and festivals They are the factors making the appearance of Van Lam village from traditional to modern time in the continuous development of the national and local history

When doing research and learning about Van Lam embroidery village, we apply the interdisciplinary approach and the combination of history, sociology, cultural education, and economics At the same time, we use a number of methods such as document analytical and

comparative methods, statistical method, sociological survey method, observation method, and analysis synthesis method

Chapter 3: Orientations and solutions of sustainable economic and social development

in Van Lam embroidery trade village

METHODOLOGY OF VAN LAM TRADE VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT

1.1 History of the question study

Studies of Vietnamese village community have been conducted for hundreds of years, concentrating in books to record the location, land, climate, natural resources, habits,

customs, religious beliefs, culture, and history They include Geography written by Nguyen

Trai (15th century), Gia Dinh general chronicle by Trinh Hoai Duc, and Nghe An book of

Bui Duong Lich Then, in 17th and 18th centuries, the Vietnamese village communities had

been outlined through a set of travel stories of Western traders such as Description of

Kingdom of people from North Vietnam (S Baron), History of people from North Vietnam

(Richard A.), and A travel to the North Vietnam in 1688 (W Dampier) Although each

foreign scholars had different perspectives on the Vietnamese village communities, they all had a common study goal of serving the invasion, domination, and exploitation of the

French in Vietnam

After the first World War, studies of the Vietnamese villages were conducted more widely In addition to foreign scholars who were interested in finding out about the Vietnamese, a number of domestic scholars also learnt about and explained customs and

habits of Vietnamese rural areas Their books included Vietnamese customs of Phan Ke Binh and Village problem of Ngo Tat To The most remarkable book of this period was

Farmers of the Tonkin delta published in 1936 by Pierre Gourou This was a sophisticated

research projects, accessing many different aspects of the Red River Delta and considering Vietnamese villages in a comprehensive structure from material to spiritual life

After the August Revolution in 1945, although the country still faced many fierce difficulties and hardships, studies of the village communities were still being implemented

with small number In this period, we could mention the books Rural areas in Vietnam by

Nguyen Hong Phong The author approach was in ethnological point of view and referred to the many basic issues of Vietnamese rural areas, such as: feudalism and public land, land ownership in rural Vietnam under French colonial regime, patriarchal family structure, structure of rank and village community management, and spirit of rural communities From the revolutionary practical situation, historical requirement, and land reform work, the book

Peasantry of Qua Ninh and Van Dinh was collected and republished in 1959 The book

mentioned problems of the farmers such as land of the tillers, their role in the revolution, and their life under the colonial mechanism By the late 1960s, Toan Anh released his book

Old way including six volumes: Festivities (upper and lower volume), Vietnam religion

(upper and lower volume), People of Vietnam, and Vietnam villages This book introduced

in details about habits, customs as well as structure of traditional villages in Vietnam

After the country became united and peaceful, to serve the reconstruction, and building the country, the question of Vietnamese rural communities still attracted attention, learning, and research of many scholars In 1977 and 1978, the Institute of History

published the book Rural Vietnam in history with two volumes With 21 papers, first

volume focused primarily on village economy, regime of land ownership, industry, commerce, and the role of villages in the struggle to defend and liberate the country Twenty six papers of the second volume focused on social and political institutions of the villages, village culture and ideology, assessed the village heritage before the socialist revolution, and introduced the world’s communes and Bao Lac mountainous villages In the form of gathering research papers of famous scholars such as Vu Huy Phuc, Nguyen Dong Chi, Vu Khieu, Dang Nghiem Van, Ngo Duc Thinh, Truong Huu Quynh, and Phan Huu Dat, villages and communes were studied in many sociological, psychological, and historical views In order to unravel the ancient sites in historical record in a systematical, detailed, and sufficient way, in 1981, the Institute of Chinese literature and demotic script published

the book Names of Vietnamese villages and communes in the beginning of 19 th century from Nghe Tinh province to the North Also studying of village communities, the book Names of villages and geography of the Northern provinces in Vietnam of Ngo Vi Lien consisted of

two parts The first was listed by names of the Northern villages with the of districts, mountain districts, and provinces The second part was considered a Northern geographic dictionary transcribing phonetically geographical names into Han scripts It introduced the population of villages, communes, and provinces according to the 1927 census It was also accompanied by written descriptions of specific villages, so that the readers could know immediately the districts and provinces that those communes belong to, as well as their political and administrative features The book is a handy reference for the extraction and lookup of the readers as well as researchers of the villages in Vietnam In 1984, Tran Tu, an

ethnologist with his book The organizational structure of Vietnamese traditional villages in

the North, profoundly presented the organizational aspects of the Vietnamese village such as

gathering in hamlet, blood line, age, machinery of government, side, association, and group Among those the explain of “12-year cycle age” in traditional society is considered a major contribution In the general studies of Vietnamese village communities, it is worth to

mention the name of Prof Phan Dai Doan with the book Vietnamese village communities -

several economic, cultural, and social issues The book focuses on analyzing key issues

from the past to present, and from economic to cultural and social structure of villages in Vietnam It pointed out clearly that land ownership and economic household is very important in the strategy to develop the villages into a model of socialism-oriented market economy, ensuring a harmonious combination between modern civilizations with traditional cultural villages Although just aiming at the villages in the North and northern Central Vietnam, the book is an useful referential material for researchers and policy makers in

Vietnamese agriculture, farming, and rural areas In 1994, the book The experience to

manage organizations of Vietnamese rural areas in history co-written by Prof Phan Dai

Doan and Prof Nguyen Quang Ngoc mentioned issues of reasoning and reality of the rural management experience in history on aspects of administration, civil institution, and village institution At the same time, it provides researching material source of rural political and social institutions up to now Village culture is one of the content attracting the attention of many scholars Prof Phan Dai Doan has always concerned about the villages His book

Several problems of Vietnamese village culture in history about village culture, family

culture, convention, and human behavior towards the nature partly contributes to the

conservation of village culture The book Vietnamese village is pluralist and tight is a

collection of valuable researching paper on Vietnamese villages of Prof Phan Dai Doan They include Prof Nguyen Quang Ngoc’s historical PhD thesis of Some business villages

in the northern delta in the 18th and 19th century It presents the socio-economic context of Vietnam in the 18th and 19th century and the appearance of business villages in the northern delta such as Da Nguu, Bao Dap, Phu Luu, and Dan Loan; at the same time pointing out

their characteristics In addition, there is a book named A Vietnamese traditional village in

the northern Plains: Understanding the economic-social structure of Dr Nguyen Hai Ke

The book is about Duc Tu village (Dong Anh district, Hanoi) basing on materials of land register, convention, and family register It presents questions of population, land, public and private field, family, family line, ancestor worship, as well as managing social organizations in the economic and social structure of traditional villages of the northern plains

The culture of wet rice cultivation has permeated deep into the unconsciousness of each Vietnamese people The agricultural culture with the core of village culture dominated all activities from production to people’s daily life Therefore, since the renovation time, the

question of village community has been more interested, particularly the role of village economy in the country’s development process Hence, the number of studies of village community is more and more increasing However, they focus mainly on the study of

traditional trade villages that show the national cultural cream The book Talented hands of

our ancestors published in 1990 by Prof Phan Dai Doan and Prof Nguyen Quang Ngoc

mentioned the traditional excellent crafts once representing the country’s civilizations, national proud, and the talent creation of our ancestors However, they also clearly pointed out the contribution of these crafts in the economy in the past, at present, and in the future This book becomes a referential material for those interested in research on traditional craft

villages and their trade ancestors In 1995, the book Bat Trang traditional ceramic village

with the chief authors of Prof Nguyen Trung Que, Dang Dinh Tuc, and Do Hong Tuyen brought out a full review of the real economic - social situation of Bat Trang ceramic village The book also gave developing directions in accordance with the Party and State

guideline on the country modernization and industrialization Another book, Vietnamese

traditional crafts and their trade ancestors of Dr Do Thi Hao published in 2000 presented

the appearance of traditional crafts and their trade ancestors in the mind of the artisan To point out that the culture of trade villages is the integration of all habits and customs, village life, community unity, professional cream, and talented artisans, preserving for future

generations, the book Traditional Craft Villages in Vietnam written by MA Bui Van Vuong

was published in 2002 The work clearly showed the role of Vietnamese traditional craft villages in the country civilization and culture history, as well as the need to conserve and develop typical traditional crafts with economic values They include Bat Trang ceramic village, Chau Khe gold and silver carving village, Dong Xam silver carving village, Kieu

Ky thin gold leaf making village, Quat Dong embroidery village, Van Lam embroidery

village, and Dong Ho block print paintings village In 2003, the book The development of

traditional trade villages in the industrialization and modernization process of Prof Dr

Hoang Ngoc Hoa and Prof Dr Vu Van Phuc focused on clarifying what traditional trade villages are and their role in the economic and social development over times At the same time, basing on the analysis and assessment of potential and real developing situation of traditional trade villages in innovating years, the authors pointed out the direction and

proposed solutions to develop traditional craft villages In the book Traditional villages in

the process of industrialization and modernization, author Tran Minh Yen (2004) basing on

the basic study of some basic theoretical issues of traditional villages, analyze and assess the real situation as well as moving trends of traditional trade villages in rural areas Then, the author brings out his/her oriented views and solutions to develop traditional trade villages in rural areas This aims to accelerate the industrialization and modernization process up to

2010, especially until 2005 However, the limitation of these two books is focusing too widely on theoretical research, not analyzing any particular case to clarify the issue

Van Lam embroidery village has been mentioned in the books of traditional crafts

such as Traditional handicraft villages in Vietnam (Bui Van Vuong); Countryside

inspiration (La Dang Bat), and Ninh Binh monograph (Vietnamese Academy of Social

Sciences) However, these books have just mentioned an overview of Van Lam embroidery without any systematic study

1.2 Concept and features of traditional trade villages

1.2.1 Concept of traditional trade village

The concept of traditional trade villages in our country is still understood that most of the people of those villages involve in traditional jobs or a few lines specialize in some hereditary jobs Nevertheless, the jobs are not transmitted in a copy and imitated way; they are improved with creativity and bear the age echo to make their products have unique features that are different from the products of others, villages, and regions

1.2.2 Classification

* Trade villages

+ By the number of trades: villages of a trade and villages of many trades

+ By nature of trades: Traditional trade villages and New trade villages

* Traditional trade villages

Basing on traditional trade groups, it can be divided into four types of traditional trade villages that are corresponding to four traditional trade groups, namely:

- Traditional trade villages specializing in producing handmade artistic items - Traditional trade villages specializing in producing goods for production and daily life

- Traditional trade villages specializing in producing goods for ordinary consumption

- Traditional trade villages specializing in processing foods

1.2.3 Features of traditional trade villages

 Features of techniques, technologies, and products

Traditional handicraft technique and family secret

Modern sciences and technologies develop and contribute to the technical innovation and products’ quality improvement in some certain production phases, traditional technologies are still at top priorities making the tradition of the products

Traditional handicrafts are products of economic activity with high artistry, combining material culture and spiritual culture and often bearing single nature Handicraft products are made by each individual; hence, they cannot be mass-produced This makes the products have their own nuances and attraction; thus, traditional products are often expensive with not many modern models

 Economic-social features

Products not only meet consumers’ demand but also can be exchanged mainly in rural markets Therefore, in trade villages, the artisans are also the farmers In addition to farming time, having a secondary job in their native land is a great advantage for people to improve their life and increase their income They can both cultivate in their land for foods and create valuable handicrafts to exchange with other commodities in the market This is a basic and popular characteristics of traditional craft villages in Vietnam Especially, the appearance of traditional crafts meets almost basic and essential needs of the rural people It has a positive impact on promoting agricultural production and service activities, contributing to build the rural economic and social infrastructure and improve people’s cultural standards

As handmade products require skilled artistic and technical proficiency with meticulous lines, handiwork of the artisans is used mainly They are skilled, ingenious, and creative with aesthetic self-determination They decide everything from production, processing, and repair to sale

To bring the handmade products to the consumers and make they know about these products, the market factor has a very important meaning, deciding the existence and development of each trade village First, the decisive factor of the production process is market to supply raw materials In the past, with small production, the markets of raw materials were mainly market on the premises

In addition, the capital market is also one of the factors promoting the development

of traditional occupations

1.2.4 Role of trade villages in economic and social development

 Developing trade villages contributes to impulse rural economic structure

transition towards the direction of industrialization and modernization

Developing traditional craft villages is considered an important solution to maximum mobilize available resources in rural areas

In addition, the development of traditional handicraft villages not only changes the structure of the rural economy but also positively influence on agricultural production

 Trade villages contribute to create jobs, raise income, improve people’s living

standards, and built new rural areas

The model of “Not doing agricultural work but still living in rural areas” in Vietnamese villages today is a significantly practical model because it attracts not only local

workers but also people in adjacent regions to come to work for

Thanks to the development of traditional craft villages, people’s economic and cultural life is significantly improved, along with the rural construction and renovation towards the direction of modernization The real nature of the process to build new

countryside face is to develop and perfect the system of infrastructure in villages such as roads, power transformer stations, communications, schools, clinics, health and hygiene healthy environment These will be premise to exploit the resources and advantages of each region, promote the development of commodity production, expand the exchange of goods among regions, and improve the living standards They contribute to decrease the gap between urban and rural areas, promoting the rural urbanization

 Trade villages contribute to conserve national cultural values

It can be said that traditional crafts can exist and promote their potential in the environment of trade villages Well-known products bring fame for villages and streets such

as Ha Dong Silk, Bat Trang ceramics, Bien Hoa pottery, Ngu Xa bronze casting, Dong Ho

folk paintings, Yen Thai do paper, Tan Chau silk, Nga Son sleeping mat, Dong Xam silver

carving, and Chau Khe gold carving The foreigners know about Vietnam through traditional handicraft products that have Vietnamese national cultural identity Hence, traditional handicraft products can be considered as valuable cultural heritages that our ancestors have leaf for the next generations Thus, in the process of industrialization, without a sense of craft conservation with national cultural identity, the unique cultural features will be gradually lost in oblivion Therefore, the maintenance of traditional industries and the conservation of national cultural identity are essential and significant It preserves cultural values of Vietnamese people in the process of industrialization and modernization

1.2.5 Sustainable developing trade villages

The development is to raise people’s awareness such as improving living standards, educational conditions, health, equality, and opportunities Economic growth is just an element of the development In addition, ensuring politic rights and interests of citizens is considered a broader goal of development Therefore, it can be understood that development

is creating good conditions for the people living anywhere to be satisfied with their needs, to have good consumption of goods and services, to enjoy cultural achievements, to live in a

healthy environment, to enjoy basic human rights, and to be ensured social security

Sustainable development is to meet the current needs but not harming the ability to meet the needs of future generations

1.3 Factors influencing the formation and development of trade villages

1.3.1 Geographical position

It can be said that geographical position has an important meaning for the formation,

survival, and development of any traditional trade village

If lacking of the raw materials or the riverside factor, the Vietnamese traditional handicrafts villages can hardly develop and be well known everywhere such as Dong Ho woodblock paintings, Bat Trang ceramics, Ha Dong silk, and Quat Dong embroidery

1.3.2 Demands of the consumers and economic pressure

Consumers’ demand is very large and diverse The demands can be the needs for food, clothing, accommodation, and travel, or worship, religion, and popular beliefs that have existed and developed during thousands of years of history and culture

Especially since the 1930s, Vietnamese handicrafts have been liked by Western countries; thus, the demand of exporting handicrafts has increased more than before The growing demand created conditions for the policy of making traditional craft villages in the North proper of the French authorities in Indochina Trade villages participated in some fairs in Hanoi and Marsei (France) Several skilled artisans were sent to France to participate in fairs and performed the process of making exquisitely crafted products

1.3.3 Professional skill level of the artisans and qualified workers; traditional techniques and long-standing experience of trade villages

It can be affirmed that the artisans play a huge role in the development of industries and trade villages The hands of talented artisans have made valuable and sophisticated products with unique cultural values, contributing to honor trade villages

On the other hand, the existence and development of traditional handicraft villages is due to long-standing experience passed from artisans and skilled workers from generation to generation The secrets then become the property of each family, linage, and trade village They are not easy to be revealed outside but are kept carefully as treasures and optimal weapons to compete with other villages

1.3.4 Regulations of trade villages and the government’s policies

Previously, in the northern delta villages, conventions were considered a legal system that was implicitly recognized and coexisted with the legal system of the centralized feudal authority They became a kind of villages’ “rules” that people often said “Imperial power bends to suit rural customs” Conventions are the specific rules of the local laws ensuring the sustainability and consistency in all activities of the villages On that basis, industry guilds, associations, and families also set up their professional regulations in the form of oaths that have been passed on from generation to generation Family members and guilds must strictly comply these oaths

Those strict regulations of the trade villages, guilds, and linage have preserved the professional secrets through from generation to generation, creating specific nuance for trade villages However, these also inhibited the development of industries in the country, creating a local nature Each trade village is a exclusive, closed, and inviolable area

If the system of rules and oaths in trade guilds and lineages has kept the profession, the system of government’s policies and laws ensures the sustainable development of trade villages

The feudal state also had talent-encouraged policies for skilled workers who created sophisticated products and grandiose art works and architectures such as nominating

“Unusual talent marquis”, “Academic Royal proclaimed”, and “Hundred houses of the nine grades of mandarin system”

Especially, in the 5th conference of the Party Central Committee in VII session (1993), the resolution of economic, cultural, social, and technological development of the country emphasized on “Developing traditional industries and villages, and new industries including home craft industry; industries of manufacturing consumer goods and exported products; industries of exploiting and processing non-agricultural raw materials, types of production services; and people’s living standards” Once again this policy was emphasized

in the orientation and tasks of the 5-year economic developing plan phase 2001-2005:

“Expanding trade villages and developing industrial and handicraft units that produce fine art items; bringing preliminary treating and processing industry to rural areas; developing service sector supplying materials and techniques; exchanging agricultural products in rural areas; and rapidly increasing employment in the non-agricultural sector”

1.4 Study viewpoints and methods

1.4.2 Study methods

- Method to collect, analyze, and synthesize materials

- Sociological survey method

- Method of field research and field trip

- Interdisciplinary method

Chapter 2: REAL SITUATION OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

OF VAN LAM EMBROIDERY TRADE VILLAGE (NINH HAI – HOA LU – NINH BINH)

2.1 Geographical position and natural condition

Ninh Hai commune in Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province has a total natural area of 945.56 ha that are divided into five villages including: Van Lam, Khe Ngoai, Khe Trong,