Unique household products from palm wood

Mr. Doan Ro Mel has researched and created many unique products from the palmyra palm tree.

Creative with palmyra palm

If in the past, people knew about products from the palm tree, such as: Palm sugar, palm juice, palm fruit, palm cake... now, Mr. Doan Ro Mel's facility also provides many products from the palm tree trunk, such as: Chopsticks, vases, ashtrays, and most especially, teapot covers made of palm wood.

Mr. Doan Ro Mel started producing palm wood products 10 years ago. His family has a reputation for producing palm sugar. During his participation in fairs and exhibitions, he saw that Ben Tre province has many unique products made from coconut trees, and came up with the idea of producing handicrafts from locally available palm trees. Starting with making chopsticks, he gradually researched and developed more products such as teapot covers, vases, etc.

At first, due to lack of experience, production encountered many difficulties. Not giving up, Mr. Ro Mel researched and improved himself to perfect the product. He said that to make quality products, choosing the most important material is. The palmyra palm tree must be at least 70 years old, and has grown too tall, making it difficult to get water or harvest fruit. These are also old trees with low water content and fruit yield, so people often cut them down or no longer use them.

“The most special thing is that using palm trees at this age will create quality products, long-lasting, termite-free, with a light fragrance and the characteristic jet black color of palm wood,” shared Mr. Ro Mel.

To make household products from palm wood, it must go through many stages. According to Mr. Ro Mel, for chopsticks, it must go through at least 8 stages, such as: Cutting, sawing, cutting the blank, cutting the card, straightening, drying in the sun, sharpening, polishing, wiping with cooking oil... As for the teapot case, there are fewer stages.

“First, we must choose palm trees with suitable diameter and hardness, then cut them into pieces according to standard sizes. The palm wood pieces are put into a lathe to form the product. Then, we carve patterns and motifs according to customer requirements. The final product is covered with a layer of glossy paint to increase aesthetics,” shared Mr. Ro Mel.

Market acceptance

Previously, Mr. Doan Ro Mel's teapot covers were mainly produced by hand. The quantity produced was small, and the quality of the products was uneven. With the support of the Department of Industry and Trade, Mr. Ro Mel boldly invested in 2 lathes and engraving machines to serve production. The cost of the 2 machines was about 600 million VND, of which his family contributed 50%. Since equipping the machines, production time has been shortened, the number of workers has been greatly reduced, and the quality of the products is consistent and sophisticated...

“Previously, we only produced 2 products per day. Since equipping the lathe and engraving machine, our family produces 20 products per day, increasing productivity 10 times. Not only that, the finished products also meet the criteria of beautiful and sophisticated patterns, so they are favored by customers,” Mr. Ro Mel informed.

Currently, Mr. Doan Ro Mel's palm chopsticks, teapot covers, etc. are well received by customers across the country. The palm chopsticks have won the award for products with cultural characteristics of An Giang province and many awards in regional competitions. The chopsticks are made from natural wood, no chemicals, no colorants, safe for users. In particular, the product price is affordable, from 20,000-25,000 VND/dozen (20 pieces), so it is suitable for a wide range of customers.

Teapot cases are also very “hot”, all the products “produced” are sold out. The most popular motifs are calligraphy paintings: Prosperity, wealth, prosperity; dragon and phoenix patterns, calligraphy, poems… With the selling price of 700,000-800,000 VND/product, Mr. Ro Mel supplies the market with about 200 products per month.

“Products are sold strongly from before Tet until the end of January, then sales are stable until the end of the fifth lunar month. Therefore, the family has to focus on production in the remaining months to stock up,” said Mr. Ro Mel.

With the introduction of household products and handicrafts from palmyra palm trunks, Mr. Doan Ro Mel contributes to diversifying and enriching products from the typical tree of the locality. The development of these products also contributes to creating more jobs for many local workers with an income of 6-12 million VND/person/month.

DUC TOAN

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