When mentioning a sewing factory, people will immediately think of the continuous sound of sewing machines, the chatter of workers working... But when setting foot in the Kymviet factory, it seems that the most special thing is that there is not a single human voice, only the sound of cutting fabric, sewing machines and the nimble hands of hard-working people diligently working.

Nestled in the small street of Trung Van, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi, Kymviet garment factory is the workplace of the disabled community. Most of them are congenitally deaf. As the year of the Dragon approaches, the garment factory of the deaf also launched brocade dragon mascots in various sizes to serve the users.

As soon as you enter the workshop, a colorful space opens up with a display area of ​​Kymviet products with a variety of stuffed animals in a variety of colors and materials with meticulous seams. Going deeper into the sewing workshop, 30 people are working diligently, without a voice, only the creaking sound of sewing machines. Looking at the way they work, no one knows if these are people with disabilities or health problems.

Their hands are agile on each detail to assemble perfect and unique products. It seems that eye contact or hand signals are enough for them to communicate and understand each other better in work and daily life.

Mr. Pham Viet Hoai is the founder of Kymviet, his face always radiates positive energy. Being disabled for 43 years, Mr. Hoai understands and sympathizes with the disabled community who still have many difficulties and limited opportunities to find jobs. That is also the reason he founded Kymviet sewing factory in 2013. Kymviet was born to create a good environment for disabled people, jobs suitable to their abilities. According to Mr. Hoai, if the human resource is disabled people who are still able to work but do not create jobs for them, it is a waste of resources.

Talking to Travellive, Mr. Hoai shared: “In life, people often think that stuffed animals are just toys for children. But with the 12 zodiac animals, each year has its own color. In addition, we can also mention stuffed animals for SEA Games, Olympia and mascots representing businesses. Therefore, this market is very large. The important thing is how we create mascots.”

Each mascot will have a story or symbol behind it. For example, the buffalo mascot symbolizes the rice civilization and the Vietnamese countryside. The chicken is often associated with Dong Ho paintings. All products are based on Vietnamese culture.

This year, the dragon mascot at Kymviet was crafted, converging from many dynasties of Vietnam such as: Ly, Tran, Nguyen... with diverse lines and took a long time to complete. The dragon model has an outer layer of silk and brocade, combined with many other traditional materials. To create the shape, the design team researched and distilled the traditional dragon lines and motifs and then combined them together in a sophisticated way. Besides stuffed animals, the dragon motif on this year's clock is also quite unique with many layers of relief relief and the dragon robe motif of Lord Nguyen.

There is a rather unique thing about most of the stuffed animal products at Kymviet: the ingredients that create the finished product cannot be confused with anything else and have the scent of Tra My cinnamon, Lang Son star anise and typical ingredients of many other regions...

Mr. Hoai said, Kymviet means needle and thread, both machine and hand-sewn, Viet means Vietnam. The word Kym evokes curiosity about the form. Kymviet is told by the skillful hands in the quiet space of disabled people who want to create meaning for life. Each product is meticulously crafted in every needle and thread, imbued with the colors of Vietnamese culture, the elaborate art of craftsmanship.

When producing stuffed animals, most of the current market mainly meets commercial purposes, but the handmade products at Kymviet contain a story behind them. Because it is a class for people with disabilities, Mr. Hoai himself also learned sign language to easily communicate and exchange with everyone working in the workshop. In addition to the sewing workshop, Kymviet also organizes workshops for students, experience sessions for tourists... to explore creative handmade items.

Video of a working day at Kymviet mascot sewing factory: