Lan Tran Tuyet is the General Manager of Craft Link, a Vietnamese NGO organization that helps craft producers, especially the poor, to improve their livelihoods sustainably through craft while helping to revive and promote traditional culture and skills. Craft Link helps producers of traditional crafts by finding markets, educating the public about producers and their products, and providing financial support to development activities. Every year, Craft Link focuses its 20 employees on one or two minority groups, and has so far worked with 50 nationwide. All introductory instruction is translated by a local interpreter and includes literacy training.

The producers of Craft Link comprise 55 groups from all over Vietnam, classified as: 45% ethnic minorities; 25% disadvantaged groups; 30% traditional villagers. Craft Link uses the profit from business by 1) investing in the development activities of the new handicraft projects; and, 2) providing small loans for ethnic groups who need small capital for buying materials or production tools.

Craft Link field coordinators and designers provide training in management, bookeeping, costing and pricing, marketing, design, product development and final inishing; quality control and packaging. In terms of design, producers and Craftlink designers work closely together to develop new products. The design process begins with thorough research into local craft traditions. In creative workshops producers develop a variety of new products utilizing traditional patterns and techniques and experimenting with different colors and materials. Craft Link projects have helped Vietnam’s artisans to revive traditional techniques of making wooden puppets, bamboo furniture and silk textiles.

"We work with the women to isolate their products' weaknesses. For instance, an unattractive scarf is the result of poor craftsmanship, and unco-ordinated fabric and colour selection," said the manager of Craft Link, Tran Tuyet Lan.

"Our job is to help them showcase their identities," she said.

Craft Link aims to raise artisans' market savvy, an approach that makes it distinct from other handicraft development groups.

"In general, minority artisans set prices impulsively in the marketplace, rather than factoring in labour and material costs," Lan said.