New vitality for the Co Tu brocade weaving profession

ĐNO - After a long period of "sleeping" in the highland villages, the brocade weaving craft of the Co Tu people in the headwaters of the Cu De River is now being awakened by the talented hands of women in Ta Lang - Gian Bi. Thanks to the combination of community ecotourism models, the brocade weaving craft of the Co Tu people in Hoa Bac (formerly - now Hai Van ward) not only contributes to preserving cultural beauty, but also brings stable income to the people.

Co Tu women in traditional costumes.

Revive traditional colors

Coming to Ta Lang and Gian Bi villages today, visitors can easily see the image of Co Tu women diligently weaving brocade while chatting animatedly at the village's Guol house. However, few people know that nearly ten years ago, the brocade weaving craft here was almost lost, because no one knew how to weave thread or spin yarn anymore.

Artisan Nguyen Thi Mai, Hai Van ward, said that in 2018, Hoa Vang district (old) invited brocade weaving artisans from mountainous districts of Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue provinces to teach weaving to women in Hoa Bac. The class attracted more than 40 women from Ta Lang and Gian Bi villages; the more they learned, the more they loved the traditional weaving craft of their people.

“At that time, everyone's intention was to learn how to weave traditional costumes of their people, first of all to weave for their relatives and family to wear, because we understood that brocade is the cultural identity and pride of the Co Tu people,” said Ms. Mai.

To weave a brocade fabric requires many stages.

The brocade weaving profession of the Co Tu people requires perseverance, skillful hands and creativity of women from dyeing yarn, extracting colors, arranging beads to creating brocade products from simple to complex.

Artisan Nguyen Thi Mai said that to weave a beautiful long skirt or loincloth, depending on the simple or complex pattern, Co Tu women have to work hard for many days in a row, or even several months to finish.

With beaded fabrics, the artisan must use his imagination to create the patterns, adding or removing beads. The more beads, the more difficult the pattern is to weave and vice versa.

Beads are woven directly into the product, not glued or attached. Using beads, inserting beads, combining beads or creating patterns with beads is a special and meticulous process, creating the special value of brocade and Co Tu costumes.

“Each woven product is a work of art that incorporates the soul, talent, aesthetic sense, creative intelligence, and working spirit of women, creating the special value of brocade. In addition to brocade dresses, women also weave brocade to create many other diverse designs and products such as scarves, handbags, wallets, and souvenirs,” Ms. Mai added.

Awakening tourism potential from traditional occupations

[ VIDEO ] - The Co Tu people in Hai Van ward, Da Nang city preserve and promote brocade weaving in the present period:

Recently, developing community ecotourism models, associated with the Co Tu people, is a direction that Hai Van ward has strongly exploited. This is an opportunity for the Co Tu people to introduce, perform, and promote the brocade weaving profession for tourism. Thereby, people can have more income, improve their lives, and preserve and conserve their traditional profession.

As community ecotourism develops, more and more domestic and foreign tourists come to Ta Lang - Gian Bi. According to records, tourists are very excited to experience firsthand the stages of brocade weaving of the Co Tu people such as threading, molding, spinning, weaving... The nimble hands and explanations about the patterns on the products bring tourists interesting and attractive experiences.

Tourists take pictures in traditional costumes of the Co Tu people.

Witnessing the Co Tu weaving brocade for the first time, tourist Le Viet Huyen shared: “This is a very precious profession of the Co Tu people, which needs to be specially preserved and maintained. Because the woven fabrics not only show the unique beauty of Co Tu costumes, but also demonstrate the skillful techniques and manual effort of the weavers.”

As a daughter of the Co Tu ethnic group, Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Thanh has always cherished the idea of ​​combining brocade weaving with community ecotourism activities, creating more livelihoods for the people. That is the reason why the model "Hoa Bac Brocade" was born, currently being accompanied by many people.

Ms. Thanh said that the model has been in operation since March 2025 and has initially brought very positive results. Currently, there are more than 10 Co Tu women participating in the model, directly demonstrating brocade weaving and explaining to tourists about this traditional craft.

The "Hoa Bac Brocade" model initially attracts tourists to participate in the experience.

Not only that, the model also creates outlets for the brocade products of the Co Tu people through promoting propaganda and advertising on social networks; connecting tourist groups to visit, experience weaving and sell brocade products.

“In the future, I will try to develop a larger and more professional model, both as a production site and a place to provide Co Tu fabric materials to tourists. From there, it will contribute to preserving traditional crafts, attracting tourists; at the same time creating more income and livelihood for the people here,” said Ms. Thanh.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/suc-song-moi-cho-nghe-det-tho-cam-co-tu-3298473.html