Palm trees are associated with the midland of Phu Tho, have been featured in many poetic works, and are familiar to many generations. Over time, palm trees have gradually disappeared, partly due to urbanization, partly because this type of tree does not have high economic value. However, in Quang Yen commune, Thanh Ba district, there are still peaceful green palm forests and the famous palm blind making profession.
It is known that Quang Yen commune currently has about 99 hectares of palm trees, concentrated in the areas of Hung Long, Minh Tan, Kieu Xuan, Dong Tho. With an area of nearly 100 hectares of palm trees, this place is a source of palm fruit, palm leaves and raw materials from palm trees for markets throughout the province and beyond.
Quang Yen commune currently has about 99 hectares of palm trees.
Comrade Nguyen Thanh Long - Vice Chairman of Quang Yen Commune People's Committee said: Being a purely agricultural commune, for generations, palm trees have been close friends, closely associated with local people. From palm trees, people can use palm leaves to roof houses, make brooms, and in season, sell fruit to traders or sell stems to households making blinds and handicrafts from palm. On average, each year, 1 hectare of palm trees can earn from 20 - 30 million VND from selling palm leaves, although not high, it brings a stable source of income for many families and also contributes to preserving traditional jobs in the locality.
This place still preserves the traditional craft of making palm blinds that has been preserved for decades.
And one of the oldest crafts in Quang Yen commune is making palm blinds. As someone who has been involved in making palm blinds for 26 years in the commune, Mr. Le Van Thinh - Kieu Xuan area said: The craft of making palm blinds appeared in Quang Yen commune about 45 - 50 years ago. At that time, in places like Phu Tho town, Doan Hung district, Viet Tri city... there were large palm blind factories or palm blind production cooperatives. At that time, I often went to "buy goods" - supplying raw materials for these establishments. After many years of trading palm leaves and stems, realizing that the locality had available raw materials and was exposed to different palm blind production models, I decided to temporarily stop trading and open a palm blind factory right at home.
Mr. Le Van Thinh - Kieu Xuan area has 26 years of experience in making palm blinds.
According to Mr. Thinh, the profession of making palm blinds is not difficult, however, to make beautiful blinds that are popular with customers, not everyone can do it. The first step in making blinds is to buy raw materials, mix the bamboo strips, dry them and then smooth them. Previously, the bamboo strip shaving process had to be done manually by the craftsman, which was very hard work, requiring meticulousness and care to be able to make a quality blind. Currently, this process has the support of machines, saving time and effort while still producing smooth, evenly shaved bamboo strips.
The first step in making blinds is to buy the raw materials, mix the bamboo strips, dry them, and then strip them smooth.
After being smoothed, the bamboo strips are classified according to size, length, and glossiness before being woven. The price of each palm blind depends on the size and type of bamboo strip, ranging from about 100,000 VND to 200,000 VND. In particular, bamboo strips woven from palm tree ribs have a durable, glossy filling, so the price is also higher than other types of bamboo blinds woven from regular bamboo strips.
The traditional palm blind is cheaper than bamboo mats, and its durability is many times greater than that of sedge mats and other types of plastic mats on the market, so it is a favorite choice of customers. In particular, according to Mr. Thinh, because many places are now not making palm blinds but switching to selling Chinese bamboo blinds, his palm blind products are less competitive, and the market is expanding throughout the province and beyond. In particular, many customers from Ha Giang, Yen Bai, Thai Binh and other southern provinces regularly order large quantities of hundreds to thousands of blinds at a time, and the family often has to hire 4-5 people to keep up with the progress. With all the orders, his family also sells about 3,000 palm blinds each year, bringing in a stable source of income, helping him to build, repair, shop, decorate his house, and develop his life.
It can be seen that, despite many ups and downs, events, there was a time when dozens of households were doing the job or now only a few households still preserve the traditional profession, but the palm tree is still a familiar crop to the people of the Ancestral Land and the palm curtain making profession in Quang Yen commune, Thanh Ba district will always accompany and develop with time...
Ha Tung
Source: https://baophutho.vn/nghe-lam-manh-co-o-quang-yen-228026.htm
Comment (0)