Bustling Thai Loan broom making village

(Baonghean.vn) - In the last days of the year, Thai Loan broom making village in Dien Doai commune, Dien Chau becomes busier and more bustling. For broom makers, this is the season that brings the highest income of the year.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nam - Chairman of Dien Doai Commune People's Committee said that Thai Loan craft village was recognized in 2003. Currently, the whole commune has 483 households making brooms, concentrated in hamlets 4, 5, 12, and 16.

The bamboo making profession takes advantage of idle local labor, with an average income of 1.5 - 2 million VND/person/month.

The main material for making brooms is the palm tree. Previously, palm trees were collected from the mountains in the Western Nghe An region. Now, due to the high cost and increasing scarcity, broom makers have switched to buying palm trees from Laos.

However, according to the assessment of long-time workers, Vietnamese bamboo still brings better quality than Lao bamboo because it is bright, smooth, and tough, so it will make a durable and strong broom. Bamboo flowers used to make brooms must be cut when they are still green and have not yet bloomed. After drying, bamboo will turn yellow or gray.

Currently, 1kg of bamboo shoots costs 22,000 VND, each broom will make at least 700g of bamboo shoots.

To make a broom, the craftsman must go through many stages: stripping the bamboo, tying them into small bundles, then tying them into larger bundles. Weaving the bundles together. Finally, the step of tying the rattan strings, also known as braiding.

The rattan used for tying is dried and then split thinly so that when tied it is tight, sturdy, beautiful and durable. It requires the craftsman to be skillful and patient.

According to the experience of the craftsman, on average, 7 ounces of bamboo are divided into 4 pieces, tied tightly with rattan rope into 4 bundles, then rolled into broom leaves. The broom handle depends on the customer's request, it can use the broom body itself, or bamboo brooms or plastic broom handles. The brooms are completed and stacked in compartments. When the appointment is made, the trader comes to the house to bundle them, put them on trucks and transport them to wholesale in all provinces and cities.

A fast worker takes 30-40 minutes to make a broom, while a slow worker takes an hour to finish one broom. One worker can make 10 brooms per day. The current price of a broom ranges from 30,000-35,000 VND/broom.

Mr. Nguyen Ong (65 years old) in hamlet 12 said: “These days, everyone in the village makes brooms. Thanks to the broom making profession, families have more jobs, bringing income to the family. Thanks to the broom making profession, many families have become agents to buy from the people, rising to become rich.”

These days, households in the craft village are busy with people separating, bundling, tying, splitting rattan... with the hope that the broom crop at the end of the year will have a good price.

In order for the broom craft village to continue to develop in a sustainable direction, it is necessary to approach investment solutions to build a stable raw material area, calling on many businesses and organizations and individuals to invest capital to both improve quality, improve designs, reduce product costs, and at the same time build and recognize the brand for Thai Loan broom products, contributing to promoting the products to the market.

Duc Chung