Campaign Story

Saigon is a city that breathes in movement — scooters humming, street vendors calling, colors and people flowing past each other like water. But beneath that energy lies a quieter struggle: piles of waste rising behind markets, disappearing artisan villages, and craft traditions fading as synthetic materials replace natural ones.

Saigon Eco Craft was born from standing in the middle of that contrast — the noise of modern Vietnam on one side, and the soft resilience of old craft villages on the other.

Our founders spent months traveling through rural communities along the Mekong Delta, watching elderly artisans weave baskets from rattan and water hyacinth with a kind of patience that no machine could replicate. These were people who knew how to turn nature into objects that last for decades. Yet their work was losing to cheap plastic imports, and many of them were earning too little to pass their craft on to the next generation.

At the same time, Saigon’s markets were throwing away tons of discarded materials — fabric ends, coconut fibers, plant waste, unused bamboo — items that still had life left in them.

Saigon Eco Craft connected those two worlds.

We work directly with artisan families, training them to turn natural fibers and rescued materials into modern designs that fit today’s homes. Lamps woven from water hyacinth. Storage baskets made from recycled seagrass. Coasters carved from coconut wood. Trays molded from bamboo offcuts. Everything handmade. Everything rooted in tradition. Everything carrying a quiet promise: beauty doesn’t have to harm the planet.

Backers don’t just support a product — they support people.

Every purchase keeps an artisan village alive. Every order diverts waste from landfills. Every design is a bridge between old Vietnamese craftsmanship and the sustainable future we all want to live in.

Today, Saigon Eco Craft joins JustStartUP because scaling this mission beyond Vietnam requires a community that believes in dignity, culture, and environmental repair. With your support, we can empower more women artisans, bring more craft villages back into the economy, and turn more discarded materials into objects worth cherishing.

Saigon Eco Craft isn’t just about sustainability.

It’s about keeping the hands that shape our world from disappearing into history.