The broom making village in Thanh Chuong sells well and has good prices.
(Baonghean.vn) - Recognized as a craft village for more than ten years, the broom making craft village in Hamlet 2, Thanh Luong Commune (Thanh Chuong) is developing steadily, selling well and at good prices.
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| Hamlet 2, Thanh Luong Commune (Thanh Chuong) currently has about 50 households maintaining the profession of making brooms. The main material for making brooms is the broom flower, which can be collected by households themselves from the forest or purchased from traders from the western districts of Nghe An, Laos and the southern provinces. People who make the profession often buy the dried broom flowers and store them for later use. Currently, households are buying dried broom flowers at a price of 25,000 - 26,000 VND/kg. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Mr. Nguyen Van Hai (64 years old), a famous broom maker in the area, said that his family has been doing this job for a long time and collects the brooms themselves from the forest. According to Mr. Hai, after collecting the brooms, they are brought to the brick kiln to be dried, so the raw material retains its green color, making the brooms beautiful and durable. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| In addition to the flowers, brooms are also made from rattan, plastic string, nylon string, steel wire... Currently, most households making brooms use plastic string. However, some households still persist in using rattan string to tie brooms, some households even go to the forest to "hunt" for rattan to use. I say "hunt" because wild rattan is quite rare now, not as available as before. After the rattan has its leaves stripped, it is transported home, split into small pieces, and dried. To make the thin rattan strands to tie brooms, it must go through an elaborate splitting and shaving process. Photo: Huy Thu |
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The broom making process involves many stages: making the broom, making the stem, tying the neck, tying the handle, and braiding the broom. Although the work is not hard, it requires perseverance and hard work. Before making the broom, the broom flowers are shredded and arranged into brooms. Photo: Huy Thu |
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The bamboo sticks (bundles of bamboo sticks tied into fan shapes) are tied tightly with giang fibers and strung into long strings to wait for broom making. Each bamboo stick must have many bamboo stalks as long as the broom body to ensure the durability of the broom. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The tools for making brooms are quite simple, just a few knives, pliers, and a spade... People can make brooms all day or in their spare time. Mr. Nguyen Si Dung - a long-time broom maker in the village said: Every year, his family uses about 1 - 1.5 tons of brooms to make 2,000 - 3,000 brooms. He believes that any broom must be beautiful and sturdy, not chasing quantity. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| According to Mr. Dung, each broom is made from 5-6 bamboo sticks. The bamboo sticks must be arranged and tied, braided skillfully so that the broom neck is strong and beautiful. Photo: Huy Thu |
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The broom making profession is not picky about labor, the elderly, young, men, women can all participate. In recent years, the broom making profession has flourished, many young people are attached to the profession, some students can also weave brooms. Mr. Nguyen Trong Tu (36 years old) shared: In his family, only he makes brooms, while his wife works for a company. Every year, he uses about 3 tons of broom flowers and is one of the people who make the most brooms in the neighborhood. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Although brooms made from plastic strings are quite durable, consumers still prefer brooms made from rattan. Each kilogram of brooms can make two brooms. For brooms ordered (people order in advance for their own use), only 2 kilograms can make three brooms. Each day, one person can make several dozen brooms. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The broom making profession here has been recognized as a craft village by the Provincial People's Committee. The brooms of the people in Hamlet 2, Thanh Luong Commune are widely consumed in localities inside and outside the district. Households who make the profession can bring brooms to the market to sell, import them to shops or traders will come to buy them at home. Depending on the quality, the wholesale price of brooms is around 30,000 VND/broom. Brooms made to order cost from 40,000 - 50,000 VND/broom. Although it is a sideline profession, the broom making profession has brought local households an income of hundreds of millions of VND/year. Photo: Huy Thu |
