Itinéraire

ITINERARY IN DETAILS:

Famed throughout Vietnam for the consummate skills of its wood workers, the village of Kim Bong in Cam Kim Commune is reached by a scenic fifteen minute boat ride across the Thu Bon River from Hoi An. Generations of artisans have for centuries produced wooden ships, boats, furniture, sculptures and carvings here, and also contributed to the restoration of historic Hoi An and former Imperial capital, Hue. Other traditional crafts that still flourish in the village bamboo work and making colorful reed mats, handbags and silk lanterns. Tradition has it that Kim Bong was first settled in the 15th century by four soldiers of King Le Loi’s army returning from the North. They saw its potential and fell in love with the area, bringing their wood working skills and founding Kim Bong’s four most notable craft families, Huynh, Nguyen, Phan and Truong, whose descendants are still working in the village workshops today. The village Craft Centre and workshops showcases craft items and the painstaking process by which they are produced, using specialist tools and techniques passed down since the 15th century when Hoi An flourished as a major sea port. The workshops today make hand crafted furniture and sculptures as well as a range of tempting souvenirs, some of which are exported a field as Europe and North America . Kim Bong craftsmen made a vital contribution to the recent restoration of historic buildings after Hoi An was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. Moreover, they have been encouraged and rewarded by UNESCO for their preservation efforts. Today the village workshops provide employment for about 50 carpenters - still far fewer than the 500 who once worked here. The adjacent ship building yards employ 150 craftsmen and supply about 20 hand-built fishing vessels every year for the fishermen of Central Vietnam.