Earn half a million a day from splitting bamboo strips to tie banh chung

These days, going up National Highway 7 to the highland villages of Western Nghe An, it is easy to see images of women sitting on the roadside splitting bamboo strips to sell to have money for Tet shopping. In the photo: People of Thach Duong village, Xa Luong commune (Tuong Duong) are splitting bamboo strips. Photo: Dinh Tuan

According to local people, in the past, at the beginning of December, people went into the forest to collect giang to sell whole tubes, but the income was not high. About 5 years ago, instead of selling the whole tube of giang, people split it and tied it into bundles to sell. This method is not only easy to sell but also has a good price. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Ms. Lo Thi Tam, residing in Thach Duong village, Xa Luong commune, said: “The work is not hard but brings in quite a high income. Every day, whoever makes it fast can make about 60-80 bundles of bamboo strips. Each bundle is sold for 10,000 VND, and if you work hard, you can earn 500,000-700,000 VND/day”. Photo: Dinh Tuan

To split the bamboo strips evenly, thinly and flexibly, in addition to having a sharp knife and the right size of giang tree, the person splitting the bamboo strips must be really skillful. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Lat giang is sold to local people and traders from the lowlands to buy and wrap cakes. Photo: Dinh Tuan

This is a seasonal job, peaking near Tet, so to save time, people eat on the roadside, and split bamboo strips to sell to customers. Photo: Dinh Tuan