Bac Thai drum-making village, a centuries-old hub, is bustling as the Vietnamese Lunar News Year (Tet) is three weeks away, remaining the only drum-making center in Ha Tinh Province, north-central Vietnam, preserving the traditional craft passed down by their ancestors.

In Bac Thai Drum Village, located in Thach Hoi Commune, Ha Tinh City, the sounds of saws, chisels, and drum testing have filled the air, creating a lively atmosphere these days. 

With over a century of history, Bac Thai is the only drum-making village in Ha Tinh that produces large quantities of drums for both domestic and international markets.

Though many clans live in Bac Thai, it is the Bui family that has exclusively continued the drum-making tradition. 

Over a hundred years ago, a member of the Bui clan brought the craft from Thanh Hoa Province to Bac Thai, where it was passed down through generations as a livelihood and has evolved into the thriving industry it is today.

According to Phan Huu Duan, deputy chairman of Thach Hoi Commune, about 25 households in Bac Thai Drum Village specialize in drum-making, most of whom are descendants of the Bui clan. 

Major producing families include Bui Dang, Bui Cat, Bui Nghiem, and Bui Can, with the village generating an annual income of about VND4-5 billion (US$157,325-196,657). 

Bui Van Luong, 68, one of the oldest drum makers in the village, has been making drums for 40 years.

He started helping his family as a child, later worked as a mechanic, and then returned to his roots in the drum-making business.

He explains that the first full moon of the lunar year, the seventh full moon, and Tet are the busiest times in the village on account of local clans' high demand for festivities and ritual use.

The drum-making process involves several stages, with the most critical being selecting wood, sawing it, drying cowhide, and assembling the drum. 

The wood must be termite-free jackfruit wood which is increasingly hard to find locally, forcing villagers to source it from neighboring provinces. 

“It takes me about 10 days to complete a large drum which sells for around VND10 million [$393], with raw materials costing about VND5-6 million [$196-236],” Luong said. 

Skilled drum makers like him enjoy a stable income from their craft, but few are able to achieve this level of success.

Nguyen Thi Binh, a 42-year-old local, runs a household that produces 20-30 large drums per month, earning about VND200 million ($7,866) annually. 

In addition to making drums, her family also repairs damaged ones. 

Binh points out that while Bac Thai drums are famous, most villagers, including her family, struggle to secure orders.

They rely on self-sourcing clients or sending drums to local agents for sale, which limits their market reach.

Luong shares a similar frustration, noting that if there were a broader market, he could double his production. 

However, due to the difficulty in finding consistent buyers, he only produces drums when there are confirmed orders, keeping his operation on a small scale.

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