'Handshake' helps revive traditional broom making craft

Mrs. Bui Thi Man (Yen Duc commune, Dong Trieu town) weaves traditional straw brooms.

Traditional profession almost fell into oblivion

Yen Duc commune refers to a fertile countryside imbued with the traditional features of a Northern village. According to the elders here, in the past, Yen Duc commune people mainly grew rice and were also famous for their traditional broom making from straw, areca leaves, and coconut leaves. However, over the years, the number of households still maintaining this profession can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Visiting the family of Mrs. Bui Thi Man (Yen Duc commune, Dong Trieu town), we were able to "witness" each process to make a traditional broom, braided from straw.

“I started weaving brooms at the age of 10, and have been in the profession for nearly 60 years now. From my great-grandfather, grandparents, parents to my generation, they have maintained the profession, and my children and grandchildren have been taught the craft since they were young,” Ms. Man shared.

The type of straw Mrs. Man uses is yellow sticky rice straw, which after drying has a yellow color and still retains its toughness.

The straw chosen must be sticky rice straw. After bringing it home, it must be bundled into small bundles and dried in the sun for about 3 more days so that the straw can retain its beautiful color and become supple. Next, the core inside must be removed and tied into small bundles, called straw.

While weaving the broom, Mrs. Man said: “Every 5 straws make a broom, depending on the size, the straws have corresponding sizes. During the weaving process, you need to be firm and weave evenly so that the broom is strong and beautiful.” Normally, for a skilled craftsman, it takes 2 days to make a large broom, and 15 minutes to make a small broom.

Ms. Cao Thi Lien has been making brooms from areca palm leaves and coconut leaves for over 30 years.

Unlike Mrs. Man who chose to make straw brooms, Mrs. Cao Thi Lien (Yen Duc commune, Dong Trieu town) in recent years has been attached to the profession of making brooms from areca palm leaves and coconut leaves.

“The coconut leaves are dried, then the leaves are stripped and carved to hold the middle part. The most difficult step in making a broom is to use rubber bands to wrap tightly to secure it to the broom handle so that it is round,” said Ms. Lien.

Because broom making requires meticulousness, perseverance and is quite hard work but the income is not commensurate, for a long time the young people in the village no longer follow the profession, only a few old and weak people remain passionate about the profession.

“Handshake” with community tourism

Ms. Bui Thi Man guides a foreign guest to weave brooms from straw.

In recent years, in Yen Duc commune, the model of experiential tourism and community tourism has emerged. Since then, many households have cooperated with tourism agencies to create tourism products to meet the needs of tourists, including promoting the traditional broom making profession.

As one of the pioneering households working with tourism agencies to introduce the traditional broom making profession, Ms. Bui Thi Man happily shared: “Thanks to community tourism, I have the opportunity to introduce the broom making profession to not only domestic tourists but especially foreign visitors so that they can better understand the culture and identity of our country. Along with that, I also have an additional source of income to stabilize my life.”

Traditional brooms have created a local tourism product.

Thanks to "joining hands" with tourism, the traditional broom making profession has been revived, at the same time creating a new development direction for the locality, attracting people to maintain the profession.

After the broom making experience, Mr. Lior (a tourist from Israel) excitedly recounted: "This was indeed a very interesting and memorable experience when I got to make a broom myself. With their ingenuity, the people here have created unique products from materials available in nature." According to the foreign visitor, this was a very special opportunity for him to learn and explore the culture of the Vietnamese people.

Sharing with the reporter of Dai Doan Ket newspaper, Ms. Tran Thi Sau, Vice Chairman of Yen Duc Commune People's Committee said: "Since 2013, the commune has had a model of community tourism and experiential tourism. Some households have cooperated with tourism companies to preserve and promote traditional craft villages, including broom making. Recently, it has been expanded to children or workers in their free time working with tourism units to make traditional brooms, thereby creating a fairly stable income."

With the combination of tourism units with community tourism models, experiential tourism, the traditional broom making profession in Yen Duc commune will have the opportunity to be "revived", opening up many potentials. Instead of having to fear that it will be lost, now the traditional broom making profession is expected to break through, creating momentum for local economic development, bringing people a full life.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/cu-bat-tay-giup-hoi-sinh-nghe-lam-choi-truyen-thong-10276988.html