For sustainable development of bamboo and rattan weaving

(Baonghean) - Bamboo and rattan weaving is one of the traditional occupations of people in rural areas, creating jobs and income for more than 13 thousand workers in Nghe An province. Although there are inevitable difficulties in the development process, the bamboo and rattan weaving profession is showing encouraging signs of improvement.

As one of the bright spots recognized by the province as a craft village in 2005, Dong Van craft village in Quynh Dien commune (Quynh Luu) has gradually built its brand and found a place in the bamboo and rattan weaving market. Coming to the village at this time, we saw the image of the elderly and children busy with the work of splitting rattan and weaving, because this is the idle farming season and the weather is starting to get warm and sunny. Baskets, lanterns, and trays with sophisticated weaving are made by skillful hands and dried all over the house and yard. Currently, Dong Van craft village has nearly 250 workers in the profession, distributed in 6 hamlets with quite high skill levels.

Raw material processing at Duc Phong Company.

Ms. Tran Thi Lai - Head of the craft village management board said: "The products made by the people are all purchased by companies at a fairly stable price. Income from the craft along with agricultural production helps reduce the difficulties of the people's lives. In recent years, the village has had 50 households escape poverty, 30 households escape near poverty. Notably, 15 of them have not only escaped poverty but also become well-off and rich households in the locality. To improve their skills, local workers have registered to attend training courses organized by companies or vocational training centers. In 2014, there were 4 vocational training courses with 120 students participating". Currently, in Quynh Luu district, there are 12 bamboo and rattan craft villages, with more than 4,000 workers in the profession, the total income in 2014 reached 8.4 billion VND.

Regarding Tien Phong commune (Que Phong district), the locality has Na Nhang rattan tray products recognized as typical rural industrial products of the province. According to Mr. Moong Thai Duong, Secretary of the village Party cell, “Currently, Na Nhang has 55 households following the profession. People often weave rattan trays, chairs, baskets... with prices ranging from 200 to 300 thousand VND per product. For products that require elaborateness and large size, the price is more than 1 million VND. Every week, traders in Quy Chau and Quy Hop often come to import goods, so the output is also quite stable”. At the same time, Khun village of Tien Phong commune is also a place that has been associated with the weaving profession for a long time with 53 households following the profession. Mr. Vi Thanh Hieu is one of the people with nearly 30 years of experience in the profession, sharing: “In addition to the time spent on farming, my family has 5 people working in the profession. This is a side job but it is the main source of income for the family... ”.

On the business side, through Duc Phong Company (Vinh City), it is known that more than 70% of the company's products are exported to 34 countries, especially demanding markets such as Germany, the US, Spain, Japan, etc. This is the leading enterprise linking with craft villages in the province to consume products as well as provide raw materials and technical guidance for people. Currently, the enterprise has 70 people participating in groups from raw material processing, design, construction with a salary of 2.5 - 3.5 million VND/month. The association between Duc Phong Company, Thang Loi Cooperative (Yen Thanh) and Phuong Anh Company (Quynh Luu) is considered a "three-legged tripod" in the issue of consuming products from rattan and bamboo weaving villages, contributing to stabilizing product output for people in the profession.

Up to now, the whole province has 43 rattan and bamboo weaving villages with more than 13 thousand workers, including 3,700 regular workers. In 2014, the revenue from rattan and bamboo weaving reached nearly 85 billion VND. Most of the products have reached a sophisticated level and are exported to many countries around the world. However, the rattan and bamboo weaving industry is currently facing difficulties due to raw materials and product output. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Kiem, Vice Chairman of Tien Phong Commune (Que Phong) said: “In the past, people only needed to go to Nam Nieng forest or the mountain ranges in Hanh Dich, Thong Thu, Dong Van to find rattan, but now they have to pack rice for 3 days to find rattan. Faced with that situation, in 2011, the commune piloted the provision of more than 2,000 rattan seedlings to 6 households for planting, but because they were planted in garden land, they could not develop. Difficulties in raw materials are currently a difficult problem for the profession…”.

Regarding product output, in the past, the province had more than 10 enterprises that purchased products for rattan and bamboo weaving villages, but now there are only 6 enterprises, most of which are small-scale, with weak adaptability and quick response to market fluctuations. Sharing about the current difficulties of the profession, Mr. Thai Dai Phong, Director of Duc Phong Company, said: “To be able to consume rattan and bamboo weaving products, in addition to product quality, design and technical design factors are also very important. Especially when exporting to demanding markets such as Europe, businesses must comply with a series of strict regulations.

Therefore, skills must be constantly improved, while our labor force mainly considers this as a side job during the off-season, so most of them have not invested in improving their skills. On the other hand, raw materials are only abundant in the dry season, but orders are evenly distributed throughout the year, requiring businesses to have sufficient reserves. While input materials are increasing (previous years the price was 1,300 VND/kg of bamboo shoots, now it has increased to 5,000 VND/kg), but output prices are increasing slowly, so businesses are also facing many difficulties."

Hope for the rattan and bamboo craft was opened when the project "Expanding the development of the rattan and bamboo value chain and poor ethnic minorities" sponsored by Oxfam was implemented (since 2013) in 4 districts of Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, Quy Chau and Que Phong, with a total capital of 1.3 million USD. After nearly 2 years of implementation, more than 3,500 ethnic minority households have accessed and participated in the development of the rattan and bamboo value chain. The districts have established 6 nursery gardens and produced more than 600 thousand seedlings; planted 50 hectares of new rattan. Regarding vocational training for workers, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Cooperative Union and the agricultural departments of the districts also organized many vocational training courses for registered students. However, in order for the rattan and bamboo craft to develop, it is necessary to continue to have support policies and organize fairs, and promote products to domestic and foreign markets. If the above issues are integrated and well implemented, it will be an important foundation for the development of the bamboo and rattan weaving profession.

Thanh Quynh