Environmental pollution in craft villages has always been a headache for Hanoi’s authorities. However, with the application of technology and greener energy, the issue has partly been solved, Tang The Hung, deputy director of the Division of Energy Savings and Sustainable Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as saying.

Hung said that using alternative energy is the key to solve the environmental issue and attain sustainable development of rural workshops.

Workers uses gas kiln in Bat Trang Ceramic Village. Photo: Phuong Nga

However, rural production, mainly at household scale with outdated equipment, has consumed a great deal of energy and caused environmental pollution. Besides, those rural workshops lack waste water treatment solutions.

Therefore, environmental pollution is a prominent issue which “could only be completely handled if the villages apply technology and use green energy in production," Dat said.

According to Ha Van Lam, head of Representative Committee of Bat Trang Ceramic Village in Gia Lam district, the use of charcoal for baking pottery in Bat Trang village in the past released toxic gases such as CO2, SO2, H2S. Nowadays, thanks to using gas kilns for firing ceramics, households can increase profits by two or three times and reduce environmental pollution.

The alternative energy, despite its advantages, has not been widely used because craftsmen lack resources to invest in it. Therefore, to encourage people to use alternative energy as well as apply science and technology, experts suggest the government needs to issue preferential financing mechanisms and policies to help the craft villages improve rural environment.