A formidable pair in the national handicraft industry, the humble bamboo and rattan have also made Viet Nam globally dominant in the weaving crafts industry.

An unsteady market, limited sources of capital and rising material costs have led to many handicraft households in the central provinces of Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam to look for new jobs.

The recent "price storm" has heavily hit handicraft businesses straggling from a lack of workers and materials.

An exhibition of 20 traditional style, black-and-white wood prints titled Wild Dream are on display at Himiko Visual Cafe, in Phan Dang Luu Street , Binh Thanh district in Ho Chi Minh City until June 24.

Functional agencies and local authorities have been called on to assist handicraft villages to attend trade fairs to build their trademarks and improve the quality and competitiveness of the products.

The Van Phuc silk village has been enjoying prosperity as every household weaves silk and everybody sells silk.

An 87-year-old war veteran is known far and large nationwide for his great effort to preserve a traditional craft that makes conical palm hats, known in Vietnamese as non .

Chung cake (glutinous rice cake) made at the Tranh Khuc craft village in Ha Noi’s Thanh Tri district will be trademarked next year, allowing residents of the village to establish an independent presence on the market.

In parts of Ha Tay and Ha Nam provinces it is said people have been making combs from buffalo horns for centuries. Judging by their two main maxims, traditionally buffalo-horn craftsmen were pretty unforthcoming to outsiders who were curious about the craft.

A festival honouring handicraft-making villages, which play an important part in Vietnamese culture, kicked off in Ha Noi on November 14.