Digitizing Việt Nam is pleased to introduce VietnamCraft, a mapping project that records craft knowledge together with the people who keep it alive. In the future, Digitizing Việt Nam will be honored to serve as a source for VietnamCraft through the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Traditional Handicrafts in Vietnam (Từ điển Bách khoa Nghề thủ công Truyền thống ở Việt Nam), part of our Ethnology and Ethnolinguistics collection.

The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Traditional Handicrafts in Vietnam

The dictionary organizes knowledge of Vietnam's traditional crafts in two parts. Part A gives an overview by craft group: agricultural and food processing, textiles and garment-making, weaving and basketry, carving, ceramics, woodworking, and smithing and casting, along with entries on craft villages and craft ancestors. Part B contains alphabetical entries on crafts, craft villages, founding ancestors and products: from the áo dài and áo bà ba, bánh chưng, bánh tro and bánh pía, and the cakes of the Ta Ôi people, to Âu Cơ and the Museum of Cham Sculpture. On Digitizing Việt Nam, the dictionary is part of the Ethnology and Ethnolinguistics collection.

The dictionary was edited by Tạ Văn Thông, with Đặng Hoàng Hải, Lê Thị Như Nguyệt and Tạ Quang Tùng, and published by Thai Nguyen University Press in 2020 (500 pages).

Two Sources, One Shared Goal

The dictionary and VietnamCraft complement each other. The dictionary records craft knowledge that has been researched and systematized on the page. VietnamCraft listens to the living accounts of people who practice a craft, once practiced it, or still remember it, and places those accounts on a map.

When the two sources meet:

• Each craft profile on the VietnamCraft map can point to the corresponding dictionary entry, helping readers see the craft in a wider context.
• The accounts, techniques and field materials that VietnamCraft records can show how a craft has changed, where it still lives, and who keeps it.
• Readers can move from the page to the people, and from the people back to the page.

Both projects hold to the same principle: every piece of documentation needs a clear source, and what is not yet known is left open rather than guessed.

VietnamCraft: The Map Is the Door, People Are the Heart

Visitors enter VietnamCraft through a map, where each pin is a craft profile. But the heart of the project is people. It works by three principles:

• Start with the keepers of the craft. Anyone who practices a craft, once did, or still holds its memories, tools and techniques can contribute. No title is needed for knowledge to be heard.
• Record with sources. Every account, technique and document notes its source, date, context and scope. Personal content is made public only with appropriate permission.
• Connect so crafts can live on. Knowledge is sought, recorded, preserved and shared as a foundation for reviving and developing crafts.

A Map in Its Early Stages

The list currently holds 744 profiles, 491 of which have an approximate map pin; the rest can still be found through search. The list is not yet complete nationwide and has not been verified with local communities. The profiles do not yet record craft keepers or field materials.

This is where sources like the dictionary and contributions from the community both matter. You can add what you know through the contribution section on each profile; for now, contributions are saved as drafts on your device and are not yet published for others to see.

Share Your Story

If you are an artisan, come from a family of artisans, or still remember the click of a weaving shuttle or the smell of glaze in your home village, VietnamCraft is waiting for your story.

Explore the VietnamCraft map →