Bringing baskets from village to market

Elderly people with a lot of experience in weaving baskets in Thong Nhat village 12, Phuoc Son commune are teaching the next generation. Photo: Quang Minh

Currently, the villagers are establishing a Basket Production Cooperative. This activity aims to preserve the weaving craft, maintain the national cultural identity; at the same time, create jobs and increase income for the people.

Production organization

For over 6 months, on clear afternoons, people in Thong Nhat village 12, Phuoc Son commune have gathered at Mr. Dieu Mai's house or Ms. Thi Sen's house to weave baskets. Ms. Sen is the Vice President of the village's Women's Association, a person with a lot of passion for preserving cultural identity as well as improving the material life of the people. Mr. Dieu Mai is a prestigious person and has a lot of experience in weaving baskets.

“Phuoc Son is a commune with a large area, gathering many ethnic groups, with diverse and unique cultural identities. Therefore, in the future, the commune will also pay attention to developing tourism in the direction of experiencing traditional craft villages, so that the cultural values of the people will create economic value. From there, culture is preserved and the economy is developed, including weaving and basket products.”
Mr. LUC DUC LAP, Vice Chairman of People's Committee of Phuoc Son Commune, Dong Nai Province

Ms. Sen said: “Previously, people wove baskets mainly to use as essential items in daily life such as: storing rice, firewood, bamboo shoots, vegetables... However, realizing that producing baskets to become products supplied to the market is feasible, especially as gifts for tourists , I am preparing the conditions to advise the Commune People's Committee to establish a cooperative to produce baskets and products made from bamboo, rattan and reed.”

To organize production, Ms. Sen met and discussed with people who know how to weave baskets in the village, discussed solutions, and assigned tasks for implementation. Accordingly, every day, healthy men will go to the fields to find and cut bamboo to bring back to make bamboo strips. Those who are good at weaving baskets are also responsible for teaching them to family members and the youth in the village. Organizing basket weaving in a concentrated manner aims to create a positive and joyful working atmosphere, thereby attracting everyone's attention, contributing to arousing love for the traditional craft that is at risk of fading away.

Mr. Dieu Mai shared: “To have a durable and beautiful basket, choosing bamboo to make ribs is very important. You should choose trees with straight stems, about 2 years old. When mixed to make ribs, they will be flexible, tough, durable, strong, and resistant to termites. When cutting bamboo, I have to show everyone the experience of choosing each tree. If you cut a tree that is too young or too old, it will be a waste, while the source of raw materials is limited.”

Each traditional basket is usually woven from rattan, bamboo, and reed in its natural color. However, we now also create many products with beautiful colors by dyeing the bamboo into green, red, brown, yellow, and purple. The patterns will be created according to meaningful images, closely related to life such as: rivers, mountains, fields, villages... Innovation and creativity will make the image of the basket become both traditional and modern.
Ms. THI SEN, village 12 Thong Nhat, Phuoc Son commune, Dong Nai province

Ms. Thi Linh, who has a lot of knowledge and experience and is also the core of basket weaving, shared: "The group of good old people weaving baskets is gradually decreasing, so few people are interested in basket weaving. I am very happy that the village has gathered about 20 key people to directly produce."

To weave a complete basket, in addition to searching and preparing materials, the weaving time is at least one day or more, depending on the size. Baskets can be woven in many patterns, single or double slats, loose or thick, large or small. Depending on the needs of use or customers, people will create many different designs. In addition to traditional patterns and colors, people now also create many innovative and modern patterns, making the basket brighter and more eye-catching, thereby making it easier to consume.

Consumption links

Ms. Sen said: To achieve the goal of bringing the basket product to the market, making it a regular and professional production industry, helping households develop their economy, people are currently proactively focusing on production. Each month, the cooperative sets specific targets for quantity and types. Thanks to that, they have both products on display and are ready to meet customer needs.

In recent times, taking advantage of seminars and exhibitions related to cultural products of the Stieng people, members have actively promoted and introduced their production models to find customers and partners. On the other hand, each individual in the cooperative, especially young members who know how to use Zalo, Facebook, TikTok, will be responsible for putting their products and those of the collective on social networking sites to make them known to many people. In the coming time, when the commune officially decides to establish the cooperative, people will plant bamboo, reed, and rattan to have abundant raw materials, contributing to the sustainable development of this model and industry.

Mr. Luc Duc Lap, Vice Chairman of Phuoc Son Commune People's Committee said: "The basket weaving of the S'tieng ethnic people in Phuoc Son commune is not only a traditional cultural feature but also creates opportunities for economic development. This issue has been of concern to the commune leaders for a long time. We have directed the specialized department to coordinate with the people to complete the conditions and procedures to establish a production cooperative. The commune will be responsible for coordinating with units and agencies to support the people in organizing production to ensure scientific, efficient and high productivity. At the same time, connect with businesses inside and outside the province to consume products."

Quang Minh

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202511/dua-gui-tu-thon-ra-thi-truong-df931dd/