VietNamNet Bridge – As one of the most typical products of ethnic minority people in the mountainous region, tho cam (brocade) now has entered daily lives of people in the lowlands who do not use the materials only for its original purpose, i.e. to make clothes, but have taken advantage of its colorful appearance and durable quality to make accessories, toys, and stuffs for home decoration.

A woman inspects tho cam bags at a shop in HCM City

There are various types of products made from tho cam suitable for both male and female users. While men can choose scarf and wallet made of tho cam or tho cam bags for travelling, products for women are more diversified such as dresses, bags, purses, backpacks, cellphone bags, shoes, and flip-flops.

Choices for tho cam products are also diversified. Those who prefer simple and less colorful bags or purses can choose tho cam of Bana people. Its major colors are black, red and white with patterns reflecting natural scenes, traditional culture and daily lives. Meanwhile, tho cam products of Muong people reflect mountains and forests, while Thai people prefer producing colorful tho cam stuff.

Le Linh Phuong, owner of a shop selling tho cam products named Tho Cam Viet in HCMC’s District 5, says tho cam products for sale on the market are either weaved manually or by machine. Products made manually are less smooth and less beautiful than those made by machines. But keener customers will choose manually-made products as they are more valuable because such products made by ethnic groups have been increasingly rare, she explains.

“Manual tho cam products require a lot of effort, patience, and allow people to change the pattern upon demand. Therefore, they are more expensive, especially products created by ethnic communities living in the northwest region. As the most expensive, tho cam products from the northwest are very attractive to foreigners, mostly European people.”

Like most shops in the city, products sold at Phuong’s shop come directly from their creators, but she says several shops only buy tho cam cloth and then create their own unique products or made products following orders of customers.

Apart from tho cam products of ethnic groups, shops in HCMC also import tho cam products from China and Thailand.

Other tho cam products that can be found at those shops are floor mats, pillowcases, napkins, and stuffed animals covered by tho cam cloth which have recently become popular on the market.

Depending on types of product and the sources of the material, prices of tho cam products range from around tens of thousands to millions of dong.

In HCMC, those interested in tho cam products can visit Tho Cam Viet shop at 767/13 Tran Hung Dao Street, District 5 and Manyim shop at 281/64/2 Le Van Sy Street, Tan Binh District.