Traditionally, each rural village in the Hanoi area had a craft such as silk weaving or ladder making. In fact, that is why the old quarter had different streets with different themes. For example, we stayed on silk street, next to metal street and around the corner from toy street. As people from the town moved to the newish city, they formed compounds, living with people from their village, and continued their crafts. Taxes were collected based on street frontage so the compounds were long and narrow, with various courtyards deep within. This tradition is somewhat dying but there are definitely still craft villages.
We toured three villages with a local guide who wants to help support some of the artisans. First we went to a conical hat village. Aviva and I tried to make one, which was slow going and pretty inelegant. The wholesale market happens on the new moon then 6 days later, and six days after that, etc. There is a big age differential, with all the artisans elderly and their children not so interested in the craft. We also visited an incense village and a rattan/bamboo making town. The incense was cool. First you chop bamboo into little pieces, let them dry and then shred them. You bundle up the threads of bamboo and bounce them against the ground to find the low quality pieces. You then paint these and run them through this machine that squeezes nice smelling stuff on them. Then you make new bundles and let them dry. 4
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