On the morning of October 13th, Hue City Women's Union held a conference to review the project titled ‘Developing Sustainable Livelihoods through Sustainable FSC Forest Management and Piloting Community-Based Tourism to Revive Traditional Cultural Practices of Ethnic Minority Communities in Phuc Loc Village, Hung Loc Commune.’

In Doc So (Doc So residential group, Huong An Ward), the craft of making Vietnamese conical hats was once practised in nearly every household. Today, the tradition is at risk of disappearing, with only around 20 people in the village still practising the craft. ​

Among Hue’s traditional craft villages, the bronze-casting craft in the formerly Phuong Duc Ward (now Thuan Hoa Ward) is renowned for the skill, patience, and dedication of artisans.

On October 6th, Hue City Sub-Department of Water Resources and Climate Change organized training sessions to guide residential group leaders, village heads and grassroots disaster prevention and response teams on how to access rain and flood warning information.

The rhythmic clang of hammers rings out from blacksmiths’ forges, the scent of fresh wood fills carpentry workshops, and artisans work with bamboo strips, conical hat frames, needles and thread. Each craft has its own tasks, and each artisan has a personal way of keeping the tradition alive. The resulting products bear the distinctive marks of their craft villages and reflect the diligence and skill of the craftsmen.

On September 27, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of the Department of Health organized a health check-up and consultation program for children being cared for and raised at Facility 3 of Hue City Social Work and Child Protection Center (formerly Hue SOS Children’s Village).

On September 19, the A Dot Border Guard Station, the Command of the City Border Guard, coordinated with militia, security, and local order forces in A Luoi 4 Commune to help local people harvest rice in Cur Xo, a residential cluster in Huong Lam Village, as part of ‘The Day to Return to the Village’ program.

Once a place where ferry crossings were part of everyday life, Thai Duong now has a more convenient road network for travel, transporting goods, and expanding livelihoods. The bridge spanning Thuan An Estuary is ushering this coastal village into a new phase of development.

In this issue, Hue Today Weekly brings readers in-depth perspectives from experts and experienced writers across the fields of culture, the arts and the heritage economy. It also explores topical issues of public interest, including regulations on caps for service fees at public educational institutions across the city, on green tourism, and how Japan preserves its historic villages. ​

Early in the morning, in a three-bay house filled with sea air in Phuong Loc Village (Phu Vinh Commune), 73-year-old Tran Van Than, surrounded by bamboo baskets, miniature boats, and coracles, was moving his hands skillfully with thin bamboo strips. Having spent decades making a living from the sea, though his health no longer allows him to work at sea, his deep affection for his hometown’s sea lives on through every product he makes.

From the second to the seventh month of every lunar year, boat-hauling vehicles are once again busy along the shores of Phuong Dien Village, Phu Vinh commune.

Life of the fishing villagers by the Bu Lu River flows by peacefully. And the beauty of this small village captivates anyone who has a chance to visit it.

From a type of wild grass growing in waterlogged lowlands, the people of Pho Trach village have turned rush into hundreds of thousands of practical, beautiful and environmentally friendly handicrafts.

The wrestling festival of Thu Le Village is a distinctive cultural feature, a rich manifestation of the martial spirit of the local people.