Chieng Chau Commune (Mai Chau) is interested in building a green craft village, aiming for sustainable development.

In fact, before the concept of "green craft villages" existed, many craft villages in Hoa Binh were polluted by dust, chemical odors and waste from production activities at craft workshops. In the driftwood craft village, sawdust covered the village roads; some brocade weaving establishments used to discharge dyed water directly into the canals, causing the water color to change according to the color of the fabric. The living space of the people and the production space were not separated, causing the living environment to be disturbed and seriously affected. The conflict between economic development and air environment protection has been a difficult problem to solve for many years in traditional craft villages.

In recent years, rural areas in general and craft villages in the province in particular have begun to change from small things. In many places, people have stopped burning garbage indiscriminately. Stone processing factories have sprayed materials with moisture before cutting to avoid dust, and scrap is collected instead of being dumped into streams. Brick kilns that used to emit smoky smoke into the environment have now been upgraded, and many facilities have completely switched to producing unburnt bricks.

Changing awareness is the core of environmental protection work. From 2020 to 2022, Hoa Binh province has organized more than 180 conferences, training courses, and propaganda on environmental protection; more than 100 classes to mobilize the collection of pesticide packaging, attracting more than 4,000 people to participate. Not only that, environmental protection propaganda work has entered the spiritual and cultural life of the community, clearly demonstrated through 4 staged exchanges, more than 30 launching ceremonies, painting competitions, knowledge learning, etc.

Without one-way propaganda, people are "empowered" to take proactive action and make efforts to change production habits that are harmful to the surrounding environment, through movements such as "Self-managed residential areas to protect the environment", the whole population unites to build a cultural life associated with the criteria of green - clean - beautiful... These movements have helped people gradually change their lifestyle. Environmental self-management teams have been established in many craft villages. Each hamlet has a regular cleaning schedule. Small-scale producers have begun to invest in wastewater settling tanks, dust walls, and labor protection equipment. The situation of untreated waste and production emissions being discharged directly into the environment has ended.

Ms. Vi Thi Oanh, Deputy Director of Chieng Chau Brocade Weaving and Tourism Service Cooperative (Mai Chau) said: "In Chieng Chau brocade craft village, people also proactively plant flowers along the roadside and hang signs "green - clean - beautiful route" as a gentle reminder every day. We understand that only when the workshop is clean can the products be sold; only when the craft village is green can tourists return and the people who directly work in the craft are also the ones who breathe the same air every day."

Not only stopping at individual changes, many craft villages in Hoa Binh have become models in developing production while always going hand in hand with the task of protecting and preserving the environment.

Tan My Commune (Lac Son) used to be home to one of the five facilities listed as causing serious pollution. In an effort to eliminate pollution, people have now proactively changed their farming methods, applied biogas tanks, separated solid waste, and planted trees around the factory area. The air in the village is no longer affected by the strong stench; rice fields that failed due to wastewater have also been "revived". Each household, each small action, when working together, has created big changes, clear transformations, giving people back fresh air.

Air is a concept that seems invisible to the naked eye. However, it is the most essential thing for human survival; present in every breath, every meal, every sleep. Therefore, protecting the air environment is also protecting the lives of the people, of each hamlet, and craft village. "Clean village roads, green craft villages" - is not a slogan. It is a journey of silent but persistent change, starting from the smallest things to create a different change. Only those in the profession can bring back green, clean air to their own lives.

Thao Uyen