Nam Thanh stonemason returns to broom weaving profession

(Baonghean.vn) - The broom weaving profession in Nam Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district has existed for a long time. After the tragic accident at the Len Co stone mine (April 2011), many stone miners returned to the broom weaving profession.

The raw materials for making brooms are thatch, bamboo and rattan. Every year in December, the broom weaving households here go to Ky Son district to buy 6-7 tons of dry thatch and rattan to stockpile for broom production.Households have linked together to form production groups, supporting each other in providing raw materials, techniques and product consumption.

In the past, Nam Thanh Commune had dozens of households whose main labor was stonecutters. Since the collapse of the Co quarry, about 10 households have returned to the profession of weaving brooms for goods. The family of Mr. Nguyen Sy Cong and Ms. Tang Thi Thuong in Tran Phu hamlet, if in the past, after each harvest, the couple had to do many jobs, including hard labor in the quarries in the commune, where danger was always lurking, but in recent years, he has decided to return to his family's traditional broom weaving profession, bringing a stable source of income.

The broom making profession can mobilize all the labor in the family.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Chinh and his wife Nguyen Thi Huong in Phan Dang Luu hamlet, Nam Thanh commune, used to work on the rocks for nearly 15 years. Realizing that the stone making job was very hard and dangerous to their lives, they have recently switched to the job of weaving brooms.

But what is more important to him and his wife is having a regular and stable job, always working safely at home and ensuring their health. In addition to broom weaving, they also have time to increase production, raise livestock, and improve the family's living standards.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Chinh is always diligent in his broom weaving profession. Every day, he can weave 10 - 12 brooms.

Ms. Phan Thi Thanh's family in Phan Dang Luu hamlet produces on a large scale, supplying the market with about 800 brooms each month. In addition to providing regular jobs for 2 family members, the family also creates seasonal jobs for 3 workers, with a salary of 3 million VND/person/month. Thanks to this job, the couple raised 2 children to graduate from university and built a spacious house.

Mr. Hoang Van Ha - Chairman of Nam Thanh Commune People's Committee said that in the commune, there are currently more than 10 households that have restored the broom weaving profession, most of whom were previously working as coolies in stone quarries.

The broom weaving profession is concentrated in two hamlets, Tran Phu and Phan Dang Luu, providing regular jobs for about 30 workers, with an average income of 3 million VND/person/month. The commune has also had many appropriate mechanisms and policies to encourage people to develop the profession to create jobs on the spot, increase income, and develop it into a traditional craft village of the locality.

To have a broom that is both aesthetically pleasing and durable, beautiful, in addition to the skillful handcrafting technique, the first important factor is the raw material stage, which must be young, dried in the sun, and not moldy during storage; the rattan fibers must be evenly split and flexible. Each broom only needs 0.7 kg of raw materials. Thanks to that, the product is guaranteed to be of good quality, creating prestige with customers.

Sun