VietNamNet Bridge – Through skillful hands of men in Binh Yen commune in Thach That district, Hanoi, insentient laterite rocks become artworks that are eternal with time.

Binh Yen commune in Thach That district has been known for processing
 laterite. This hard job is for men only. Workers use shovel hoes to
dig up laterite rocks from the earth.






Old people say that the name Thach That is combined by two words ‘thach’ (stone) and ‘that’ (trade),
meaning that this is the land of stone processing trade. There is laterite strips running from Thach
 That district to Chuong My district, with some open-cast sites.






Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminum, formed in hot and wet
 tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. It is soft when
 it is underground and gets harder when it is dug up. The nicest color of laterite
is yellow, which is around 50-70cm deep. The deeper laterite is,
 the duller it is, says Mr. Sang, 46.






Laterite resources have been exhausted in Binh Yen so the number of laterite workers has dropped.






Mr. Nong, 50, says that he can only make simple products from laterite, so he earns only
VND200,000 ($10) per day. It took him two days to make this well lip.
After that, chief worker will carve patterns on it.






At nearly 12h at noon, the outdoor temperature is over 40 degree Celsius but this
man still tries to dig up laterite.












“This job requires patience and a little aptitude,” says Mr. Nghiem,
a laterite processing artisan.  Mr. Nghiem makes various artworks from laterite,
from lamps to well lips, jars, statues, etc. “I can make two elephants of 1.5m tall,
2.5m long within a month, selling for over VND50 million ($2,500) a pair,” he says.






In the past, the poor used laterite to build walls and fences. Nowadays, this material is for the rich.
This well lip is priced more than VND10 million ($500).





Most of laterite workers do a simple job, digging up. Only several of them
can make artworks from the rock.






There is no school teaching this job. I can make anything at clients’ requests,
 based on my imagination and experience, says Mr. Nghiem.






Binh Yen people have used laterite to build houses and fences for centuries. These works
 are durable with time. “When I was a small boy, I saw laterite-made elephants, wells,
village gates and houses,” says Mr. Huan, 85.






The communal house of Yen My village in Binh Yen commune has just rebuilt by laterite.
The cost is over VND100 million ($5,000), four times more than normal materials.


VNE