Quang Truong Commune preserves the craft of weaving sedge mats

Chau Son and Truong Thanh villages, Quang Truong commune (Quang Xuong) have long been famous for their traditional sedge mat production. Experiencing many market fluctuations, the craft village has been prosperous and less vibrant, but many people in these two villages are still diligently working at their looms, proactively improving product designs, and actively searching for and expanding product consumption markets. From there, they have both preserved and developed their ancestors' traditional craft and increased economic value, creating jobs for many local workers.

Quang Truong Commune preserves the craft of weaving sedge mats The sedge mat production facility of Mr. Trinh Van Vinh's family in Chau Son village, Quang Truong commune (Quang Xuong).

Quang Truong Commune is a low-lying area, suitable for growing sedge, so people here have long been attached to the profession of growing and producing handicraft products from sedge. People in Quang Truong sedge mat craft village mainly weave many types of mats, wide and narrow from 1.1m to 1.8m. Sedge fibers are simple, but through the skillful and talented hands of the craftsmen, they have become soft mats, good quality, beautiful designs, and many customers come to the production facilities to order the products. Whether woven by traditional manual methods or by machine, sedge mats in Chau Son and Truong Thanh villages are created through quite elaborate stages. The harvested sedge is split immediately, then dried, and by-products are removed; then in the stage of selecting sedge, the sedge must be classified evenly, according to the different sizes and lengths of each fiber, so that when weaving the mat, it will be durable and beautiful. Next, when putting the sedge into the weaving machine, the weaver must be very careful so that the edges and seams are neat to create durable, beautiful, and sturdy mats...

To improve economic efficiency from growing and processing sedge products, Quang Truong commune has encouraged businesses and households to invest in purchasing new or renovating mat weaving machines, improving productivity, and finding and expanding product consumption markets.

Mr. Trinh Van Vinh's family in Chau Son village - one of the households making mats with large production scale in the village said: "There are many people in the village who have been attached to the profession of growing sedge for almost their whole life. When they were young, they dried sedge, dried jute, cut the edges of the mat; when they grew up, they stretched jute, built the loom; when they reached adulthood, they finished weaving the mat leaves, then printed and decorated them with patterns... But in recent years, handmade products cannot compete with products from industrial machines. Many families are no longer interested in this job because it is both hard and the remuneration is not worth it. Faced with that situation, my family invested hundreds of millions of dong to buy 6 mat weaving machines. Compared to hand weaving, weaving by machine has the advantage of being much faster, the quality of the mat is consistent and can meet contracts to buy finished mats in large quantities in a short time. On average, the machine can weave 30 pairs of mats a day. Every month, my family sells to the market more than 1,000 mats, creating jobs and stable income for 4 workers.

It is known that Quang Truong commune has nearly 10 hectares of sedge, with an average sedge output of nearly 700 tons/year. At its peak, the whole commune had about 150 mat weaving machines, creating regular jobs for nearly 1,000 local workers. However, with the development of economic life, people have access to many types of raw materials and different product lines, so the demand for sedge mats for daily life has decreased significantly. Up to now, the whole commune has only more than 60 mat weaving machines concentrated in Chau Son and Truong Thanh villages. To create a brand and expand the consumer market, many households have switched to making high-quality mats such as: color-printed mats, printed mats, and custom-made mats with higher prices.

To encourage people in the traditional sedge weaving village to maintain and develop the craft, the Party Committee and the Quang Truong Commune government are directing associations and organizations to create conditions for people to access preferential credit sources to develop production; organize technical training courses, market development skills and introduce products through e-commerce trading floors. At the same time, encourage people to convert ineffective rice-growing land, take advantage of and improve fallow land to grow sedge, transfer science and technology, grow high-quality sedge varieties, improve the quality and design of sedge products.

Article and photos: Luong Khanh

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