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| Minh and Tai with their artwork recreating Co Tu daily life using fabric scraps |
After more than a month of diligent work outside of class hours, the students completed their creative textile collages. Each piece presents a slice of life from the Co Tu people living at the foot of the Truong Son Mountains: young women carrying backpack basket of firewood to the village in the golden sun light, children playing in the front yards, women weaving zèng or pounding rice in the warmth of a stilt house. These familiar scenes come alive through intricately cut and emotionally colored layers of traditional brocade fabric scraps.
“During a school field trip to a village, I was so fascinated by the vivid and lively culture of the Co Tu people that I thought of why not using fabric scraps to depict it” shared The Tai.
At first, they intended to use ordinary fabric scraps, but later decided to use pieces of brocade fabric woven by Co Tu women themselves to tell a truly local cultural story. “A single zeng cloth is very expensive. After it’s cut into traditional garments, the leftover pieces are usually thrown away by tailors. When I asked for them to make artwork, the aunties were happy, knowing the scraps would be put to good use,” explained Nhat Minh.
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| Co Tu cultural identity recreated delicately through fabric scraps |
Under the hands of these young students, fabric scraps transformed into the faces of Co Tu girls, innocent children, communal houses, green mountains, and golden sunlight bathing the terraced fields. “First, we sketched in pencil, then glued the fabric on,” they said. Among their works is a piece showing a Co Tu girl carrying firewood across the fields, and another depicting a stilt house nestled beside the rice paddies of Huong Giang village, where children play joyfully at dusk. The most striking piece features grandmothers and mothers weaving brocade, the iconic fabric of the Co Tu, adorned with vivid patterns that reflect the soul of the deep forests.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nam, an art teacher at Khe Tre Town Secondary School, shared: “The students have breathed life into fabric scraps to recreate Co Tu culture so vividly. They are not only skillful, but also observant and deeply passionate about highland culture. Though the topic is familiar, they found a new, unique way to express it.”
At the district-level Youth Creativity Competition, their work titled “Brocade Art Collage Awakens the Co Tu Weaving Tradition” stood out for its creativity and cultural depth, earning them a Consolation Prize. Their joy grew even more when some of the displayed pieces attracted interest from viewers who asked to buy them to exhibit at tourist destinations, where international visitors could admire a piece of highland spirit shaped by student hands.
Neither Nhat Minh nor The Tai is from an ethnic minority. They are of Kinh ethnicity but were born and raised in the Nam Dong area (now Phu Loc District). “There are Co Tu classmates in my class. On special occasions, they wear beautiful traditional brocade clothing. I find Co Tu culture really fascinating, and I want to share it so more people can appreciate it,” said The Tai.
Both students have been excellent learners for years. The Tai won first prize in math and a consolation prize in English at the district level in Grade 5. He enjoys art and dreams of becoming an architect. Meanwhile, Nhat Minh dreams of becoming a police officer to protect the village. These dreams are being nurtured each day by their sincere affection for the land they grew up in, a place where even fabric scraps can help preserve the cultural beauty of their village.