Bamboo ladder village

(Baonghean) - In the past, every household in Hamlet 6, Nghi Lien Commune (Vinh City) made bamboo ladders. But now, most of the ladder makers have changed jobs, leaving only about a dozen households in the village...

Mr. Lam (Hamlet 6, Nghi Lien) brings ladders to sell.

By chance, I met a skinny man with dark limbs, struggling to push a dilapidated bicycle with nearly ten ladders across it under the hot sun, a water bottle and an old towel hanging from the handlebars to wipe his sweat. Curious, "getting to know" him, I was led to hamlet 6, Nghi Lien commune, the "hometown" of bamboo ladders...

The man I met on the road that day was Mr. Vo Dinh Lam, 55 years old, hamlet 6, Nghi Lien. I arrived when he was engrossed in carving and whittling bamboo to make ladders. Recognizing me, he smiled and said: "The hands and feet of a ladder maker are always black. The bamboo is curved, so they have to be burned over fire to straighten it. Although the bamboo is curved, the bamboo is very good. You have to work hard to burn and bend it, which is a lot of work and effort, but in return, the ladder is strong...". Mr. Lam added: He is the third generation ladder maker. When he was 10 years old, Mr. Lam followed his grandfather to choose bamboo to make ladders. At that time, there was a lot of bamboo in Nghi Lien. Ladder makers have a keen eye for bamboo. Just by looking at the bamboo roots, they can tell which tree is good and can be used to make ladders. Many times, the bamboo trees were straight, big and plump, but my grandfather only chose curved bamboo, and he wondered: "Why didn't you choose straight bamboo?". Grandfather smiled: "Bamboo is bent but when it is old, when we come back, we burn it and it will straighten again." In winter as well as summer, ladder makers gather on both sides of the village road, some bend bamboo, some make ladder legs, some carve... Men cut bamboo, burn, bend, women carve bamboo, make steps, bustling in a corner of the countryside. Nowadays, although the ladder making business is not as bustling as before, those who are still attached to the ladder making business also have their own joy.

Every day, Mr. Lam and his wife go out to buy bamboo, mainly garden bamboo. "Nowadays, there are not only bamboo ladders but also Inox ladders, people sell a lot, so we also have to choose good bamboo, make beautiful ladders to sell. The people who buy bamboo ladders are mainly construction workers. Making bamboo ladders, the average income is around 150 thousand VND a day. In the countryside, that level of income is also good, besides farming and other side jobs. People who are willing to push the ladders to sell get higher prices than selling at home. People come to order ladders, some buy retail..., Mr. Lam confided.

Currently, in hamlet 6, there are about ten families still attached to the ladder making profession. Like Mr. Hue's family, thanks to the ladder making profession, he can feed his children and send them to school. Then in the village, there is Mr. Phuong, who is 74 years old this year, attached to the ladder making profession until now, not only for food and clothing like before, but he loves the profession that his father was once attached to. In one day, while working and resting, he can complete 2 ladders. The ladder making profession has its own pleasure, husband and wife, grandfather and grandchildren gather to make ladders in their free time, when they are tired, they can rest, without being bound by time. Mr. Phuong is old, if he cannot sell the ladders, he will sell them to ladder traders. When I was still healthy, like them, I pushed the ladders to sell everywhere. I have been to many rural areas, people know me, and invite me to eat when they meet. Mr. Phuong and his wife got married because of that ladder making profession. In the village, many professions have higher incomes, but some people are still attached to the ladder making profession...

At around 4am, Mr. Lam and the workers in Hamlet 6, Nghi Lien Commune, tie dozens of ladders onto bicycles and push them to sell. On their bicycles, the ladder sellers always have a bottle of water and a ball of sesame rice. The good thing about making ladders is that if they don't sell out today, they can sell more tomorrow, without fear of unsold products...

Thu Huong