The inspiration of Zó

When I was little, my parents and grandparents told me a lot about dó paper, Đông Hồ folk painting village or Hàng Trống craft village. I was really indulging in such Vietnamese art but unfortunately, I didn’t have any chances to observe how traditional craft products were made by skillful craftsmen. Then one day, I discovered “Zó Project” all by accident … “Zó Project” was created by Ms. Tran Hong Nhung in June, 2013. The office is located at 22B, Alley no. 165, Trích Sài, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội. As the matter of fact, “Zó Project” does not only aim at preserving and developing the techniques in making traditional crafts but it also focuses on making the paper producing procedure environmentally-friendlier. In order to make these desires become real, Zó has organized a number of workshops to help young people experience the process of making conventional dó paper carried out by craftsmen at Dó paper craft village in Bắc Ninh province or by people from Mường ethnic minority in Hoà Bình Province. Besides, Zó also helped people get a closer look at Vietnam’s traditional dó paper craft by planning some visits to Đông Hồ folk woodcut painting village – a place which bears a close connection with the history of dó paper.

Screen and Collage Printing Workshop (28 June 2015)

Screen Printing Workshop (21 June 2015)

Paper Natural Color Dying Workshop (12 Jan 2015)

Xmas Lamp from Dó paper workshop (20 Dec 2014)

All of the workshops have received positive feedbacks from visitors, who come from all walks of life: young Vietnamese people and young foreigners; middle-aged people and Vietnamese people coming back from abroad. Such meaningful support helps boost all volunteers from Zó to work even harder to achieve our initial goals. Following the success, Zó once again brought the soul of dó paper to kids at VIP International School in Hanoi. Guess what, they were super excited!

Last but not least, Zó’s long-term plan emphasizes on how to enhance the value of this special kind of beautiful, subtle and durable paper.

And, just like that, products made from dó paper and other traditional materials have come to life thanks to the deep passion of a community towards the elegant paper.

#zoproject #news #feedback #English