Longing for… the bamboo and rattan weaving village

(Baonghean) -Depending on businesses from raw materials to product consumption, when businesses encounter difficulties (due to scarce raw materials), hundreds of workers in the bamboo and rattan weaving village of Nghi Thai commune (Nghi Loc district) almost lose their "livelihood"...

Craft villages "thirsty" for work

Coming to Nghi Thai commune these days, it is difficult to recognize the existence of 10 bamboo and rattan weaving villages here. The image of every house splitting bamboo strips and people weaving bamboo and rattan products for export like in previous years is no longer there.
Mr. Luong Van Minh, 76 years old (Phuc Tho hamlet), is no longer strong enough to do his favorite job, but he still remembers the prosperous days of the village. And it was not so long ago, in 2004, when Phuc Tho was officially recognized as a craft village, people from old to young, men, women and even students all participated, no one had any free time. Mr. Minh regrets: “Those years, not only during the day but also at night, it was very fun, every house had bright lights, watching TV and weaving products for export. Up to 90% of Phuc Tho workers participated, now only about a third remain…”. According to Mr. Minh’s son, Mr. Luong Van Hung - hamlet chief, Phuc Tho is one of the largest bamboo and rattan weaving villages in Nghi Thai commune. Currently, Phuc Tho has 350 workers, but only about 150 workers work in bamboo and rattan weaving. Mr. Hung said: “In 2002, 35% of households here were poor. When the bamboo and rattan weaving profession was established for export and especially when it was recognized as a craft village, Phuc Tho gradually changed its appearance, the number of poor households has now decreased to only 4.5%. Unfortunately, since 2010, the bamboo and rattan weaving profession has gradually shrunk…”.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoc, Secretary of the Party Cell of Phuc Tho, still maintains the bamboo and rattan weaving profession. Mr. Hoc said that the craft village is facing difficulties because the price of products has not increased, while the bamboo (a tree of the bamboo family - raw material for making bamboo and rattan for export) and other additives are expensive and too scarce. Every time a business brings raw materials, the whole village jostles to get some to make. To maintain regular employment, Mr. Hoc and his wife, Ms. Doan Thi Que, even have to use the bamboo core - which was previously only dried for use as fuel - as raw materials. Mr. Hoc said: "Well, we have to accept the reduction in product prices to have regular employment..."

In Thai Loc craft village, the atmosphere of bamboo and rattan weaving is still faint. We, along with Mr. Vuong Dinh Duong - a labor extension officer of Nghi Thai commune, visited the family of Mr. Le Van Hung, a household of 4 people who regularly work in bamboo and rattan weaving. Mr. Hung said that in the past, the family had a stable income of 3 - 4 million VND per month. Now, due to the scarcity of raw materials, everyone mostly works in agriculture, occasionally earning a little bit of raw materials, so the family economy is facing difficulties. According to Mr. Duong, hundreds of families in Nghi Thai bamboo and rattan weaving villages are in a state of unemployment. The reason is that the source of raw materials for production depends on businesses. If businesses provide enough raw materials, people have jobs, otherwise they work in agriculture, bricklaying, market-keeping... or wait for raw materials.

Women in Thai Tho craft village use bamboo guts to make bamboo strips to weave products.

Nghi Thai has 11 hamlets, of which 10 are craft villages and 1 village is a bamboo and rattan weaving village with 1,200 workers, of which 800 are regular workers. The commune government is well aware of the difficulties of the craft villages, but has not found a way to resolve them. Chairman of Nghi Thai Commune People's Committee - Vo Van Vinh said: "The raw materials for production of the whole region depend on enterprises such as Duc Phong, Dinh Trieu, Phong Canh, Hoan Khanh... When these enterprises encounter difficulties, the villagers share the consequences". What has the commune government done to help people overcome difficulties? According to Mr. Vinh, the commune has met and discussed with enterprises many times, but in reality, most of these enterprises are only intermediaries for enterprises in Hanoi and Hai Phong. Only when we build a brand and sign direct contracts with foreign enterprises can we hope to end this situation. But that is beyond reach...".

Need solutions to ensure raw material sources

In Thai Loc craft village, Mr. Nguyen Quang Trach's family is the only household with abundant raw materials for the craft. The reason is because he used to be the owner of a rattan and bamboo weaving business, and now he is one of the raw material suppliers for the craft village. Mr. Trach said that the scarcity of raw materials is due to many businesses from Thanh Hoa, Ha Tay, Hoa Binh provinces... coming to Nghe An to collect goods to produce toothpicks and chopsticks. "Lung trees for making rattan and bamboo weaving require scraping (bark). Meanwhile, businesses in the North buy them all at the same time, so people sell them all" - Mr. Trach said. Why not buy them the way they do? Mr. Trach replied: "Our conditions are limited, we don't have scraping equipment, dryers... so we can't buy like that".

We went to Duc Phong Company Limited, a large enterprise in the field of production and consumption of rattan and bamboo products for export. Mr. Phong confirmed that the source of rattan and bamboo materials is scarce and the province's rattan and bamboo craft villages need to sympathize with the enterprises during this period. According to Mr. Phong, in previous years, Duc Phong enterprise had enough raw materials in reserve to supply Nghi Thai craft villages. However, this time is really difficult because the weather is not suitable for drying raw materials, besides facing fierce competition with enterprises in the North. Duc Phong Company Limited even agreed to raise the price to 1,400 - 1,600 VND/kg while the actual price is about 1,200 VND/kg, but it is still difficult to purchase. “They buy indiscriminately, sometimes up to 100 tons a day. Therefore, people in Quy Chau and Que Phong districts exploit very indiscriminately, and on top of that, people do not invest in new planting, leading to the depletion of raw materials,” said Mr. Phong. And Mr. Phong proposed: “There needs to be intervention from authorities at all levels. In Thanh Hoa province, there are also linden trees and during the bamboo shoot season, they advise people not to exploit them, and at the same time, instruct people on how to exploit and replant them… In my opinion, our province also needs to have similar measures, only then can we maintain raw materials for craft villages.”

Bamboo and rattan weaving villages are anxiously waiting for work, which is a reality. And, sadly, one of the main reasons is the scarcity of raw materials. Lung trees are a product of Nghe An, a raw material for dozens of bamboo and rattan weaving villages for export, and of course become a source of livelihood for tens of thousands of workers in the craft villages and people in Dong Van, Thong Thu (Que Phong), Chau Thang, Chau Tien, Chau Hanh, Chau Binh communes... (Quy Chau). Therefore, developing and exploiting lung trees in the above localities to create a sustainable raw material area for the province's bamboo and rattan weaving villages is extremely necessary.

Nhat Lan