The preservation of the traditional paper making craft in Dia Tren hamet

Dia Tren hamlet, Phuc Sen commune has 65 households with 268 people, 100% are Nung ethnic, and their source of income is mainly from agricultural production. Papermaking craft in Dia Tren hamlet has existed for a long time. The main raw material to make the traditional paper is the bark of May Sla tree. To have a finished paper product, it has to go through a meticulous and hard process with many steps such as soaking, cooking, pounding the bark, making paper pulp, moulding, drying the paper .... The steps of making the traditional paper are still done manually in the traditional way. The traditional paper is mainly used for the spiritual purposes of ethnic minorities. Besides, paper quality and design cannot compete with industrial paper products. The low income from paper making makes many people, especially young villagers no longer interested in this traditional craft.

With the objective to uphold and bring into play the paper-making craft in Dia Tren hamlet and create a stable income for people from this traditional craft, the Management Board of Non nuoc Cao Bang Geopark decided to develop Dia Tren traditional paper-making village as a partner of Non nuoc Cao Bang geopark in the East route of the geopark. The management board has been working with relevant agencies and local authorities to build infrastructure to serve geotourism such as parking, direction panels, information panel, installing geopark partner plaques, and providing glass display cabinets…       

The Management Board has also regularly worked with local people and guided them to diversify products from paper and handicraft products to serve tourism such as gift bags, confetti, scrapbooks, painting paper, souvenir cards... Thereby, contributing to the expansion of the market for traditional paper products.
The traditional paper making is associated with the tradition and culture of the Nung An people. Preserving this traditional production is also contributing to the preservation of their cultural identity. In the coming time, the Geopark Management Board will coordinate with representatives of tourism business and geopark partners such as restaurants, hotels, souvenir shops, and homestays to support the output of the Dia Tren paper products … as well as support activities to transfer Dia Tren into an interesting destination for experience tourism in the geopark territory.