Ms. Phieu (outside) is a Ta Oi woman passionate about traditional Zeng weaving.

Paris - Kavin village head, Ms. Ho Thi Hong, could not hide her joy when mentioning Ms. Phieu while leading us through the small village road. “Hard-working, not afraid of hardships or difficulties” is what the female village head said about the Ta Oi women in her village.

In a small grocery store by the roadside, Ms. Phieu is sitting attentively weaving zeng. Under her nimble hands, patterns carrying stories of the mountains and forests slowly appear. "I take advantage of weaving when there are no customers. Some pieces take a whole week to finish, because during the day I am busy with the fields, gardening, and trading, so I can only weave at noon or late at night," she said, her eyes never leaving the loom.

For the Ta Oi people, zèng is not just a fabric, it is a memory, a culture, a breath of the great forest. Women here take advantage of every free moment to weave zèng. They do not let their hands rest, nor do they let the loom lie idle in the corner of the house.

Not only weaving zèng, after many days of struggling and proactively finding outlets for the products, Ms. Phieu boldly stood up to buy zèng from the women in the village and neighboring areas. "Going beyond" the fields and villages, she drove her motorbike to Quang Nam for consumption. Each trip of hers could be filled with 50 zèng sheets - the sweat and hard work of the women in the highlands.

To have capital for purchasing, Ms. Phieu boldly borrowed capital from the district Social Policy Bank through the commune Women's Union. From the initial small loans, after each shipment, Ms. Phieu saved and reinvested. Her grocery store also gradually expanded, supplying many essential items, helping people not have to travel dozens of kilometers to A Luoi town to shop.

“Ms. Phieu is a shining example of a highland woman who knows how to do business . Not only does she develop her family's economy, she also creates outlets for zèng products, helping many women have a stable source of income,” commented Ms. Ra Pat Thi Toi, Head of the Savings & Loan Group of Paris - Kavin village.

Phieu and her husband also cultivate 3 sao of rice fields, plant 1 hectare of acacia, raise fish and pigs. Her husband - Mr. A Viet Hung - carries a basket to the fields every day to take care of the acacia plantation and rice fields. In the afternoon, on the man's back is a heavy basket of taro for the pigs waiting for their meal. "The work never stops, but having something to do is very happy", the Ta Oi woman's eyes are radiant.

Ms. Phieu boasted that at one point, her herd of pigs grew to 20, with 4-5 sows. Each sow gave birth to 3 litters a year, each litter about 12-15 pigs. In addition to saving to expand the herd, she also sold breeding pigs to people in the village, each pair of breeding pigs costing about 2.5 million VND. "The pigs I raise are only fed vegetables, bananas, bran, no growth-promoting food, so the meat is delicious, traders really like them," she said with satisfaction. The pigs are raised for about 4-5 months before being sold. Each pig weighs from 50 to 60kg. The selling price for 1kg is about 50-60 thousand VND.

In Paris - Kavin village, the sound of the loom still resonates every quiet noon. It is not only the sound of a traditional craft, but also the sound of the desire for change, of prosperity from the hard-working hands of women like Ms. Phieu.

"As long as you are not afraid of hardship, not afraid of suffering, and are diligent like Ms. Phieu, poverty will definitely be left behind" - Mr. Ho Chinh Be, Chairman of Lam Dot Commune People's Committee said excitedly.

Article and photos: Ha Le

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/kinh-te/doi-ban-tay-det-am-no-154266.html