To turn highland rattan and bamboo products into souvenirs

(Baonghean) - For the Thai and Khmu ethnic people in Que Phong district, weaving bamboo and rattan is a traditional profession. From rattan trees growing deep in the forest, under the skillful hands of women, products such as sticky rice containers, trays, baskets, trays, cabinets, chairs... are created one after another to serve daily life. In Que Phong district, many people have preserved the weaving profession. Many years ago, Mr. Lo Hai Truyen, in Na Nga village, Muong Noc commune, only wove rattan to make household items, as well as gifts for his children and grandchildren. But in 2010, at the Nine-Room Temple Festival, the bamboo and rattan products he made were displayed at the local product booth. Here, visitors were very interested in the sophisticated bamboo and rattan products he made and placed large orders.

Mr. Truyen said: “There are many customers in the district, in the province, and outside the province who order rattan and bamboo products as gifts, and there are times when I can’t keep up. The rattan and bamboo weaving profession has given me an income of 6 - 7.5 million VND/month. A rattan chair costs from 100 - 150 thousand VND or a rattan tray costs up to 1.5 - 2 million VND. Therefore, rattan products are difficult to compete in the market. Secondly, the production scale of the family and neighboring households is still small, so production cannot meet the demand for orders.

Lack of raw materials is also the reason why the famous weaving craft village of Na Nhang, Tien Phong commune (Que Phong) is at risk of disappearing. 55 Khmu households in Na Nhang village all have very good weaving techniques with their own family secrets on how to choose and dry rattan. In previous years, when wild rattan was easy to find, Na Nhang's rattan and bamboo products were produced in large quantities and sold well, helping people increase their income. But now, young rattan in the forest cannot grow fast enough, so the products made are becoming less and less.

Mrs. Cut Thi Tuyet (Na Nhang village, Tien Phong commune) with rattan and bamboo products.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Kiem, Vice Chairman of Tien Phong Commune People's Committee, said: "In 2011, the Commune People's Committee piloted the provision of more than 2,000 rattan seedlings to 6 households for planting and care. Planting rattan aims to solve the dependence of local people on forest materials. However, due to poor care, only a few stunted rattan trees remain."

In Tuong Duong district, the planting of rattan to create raw materials for the weaving industry has received attention from all levels and sectors. A few or three years ago, the leaders of this mountainous district went to Thai Binh, Ha Nam, Vinh Phuc to visit, learn and collect rattan seeds. Rattan is suitable for Tuong Duong land, basically supplying some raw materials for producers. By 2014, the district had established 1 cooperative and 2 groups of households producing rattan and bamboo in Tam Dinh, Yen Na and Yen Hoa communes. The rattan and bamboo products produced by these groups were basically consumed well, with no backlog.

However, bamboo and rattan products in Tuong Duong have not yet become souvenirs, bringing high economic efficiency to people. Despite many efforts, bamboo and rattan weaving has not overcome the following obstacles: High product prices; low production quantity; when businesses place large orders, raw materials are not supplied enough; at the same time, there is no stable long-term output, so people still weave in a natural way "weave whatever they want", without organization from design, production and consumption.

When will bamboo and rattan weaving become souvenir products at tourist destinations and bring high economic efficiency? Mr. Luong Thanh Hai, Head of the Provincial Ethnic Committee, said: In order for the bamboo and rattan weaving profession in the highlands to develop and create products for tourism, people need to actively grow rattan to proactively source raw materials; must promote the introduction and connection between producers and businesses, tours...

Thanh Son