Create jobs for people
Growing and selling water hyacinth is becoming a side job for many people in Xa Phien commune, Vinh Thuan Dong commune, Can Tho city. Some households have taken advantage of their riverside land to fence and raise water hyacinth waiting to harvest, dry and sell, some households rent land for cultivation, others work as laborers cutting water hyacinth and also have a stable source of income.
Water hyacinth is considered a poverty alleviation plant for rural people.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong in Vinh Thuan Dong commune said: “The land rental price for growing water hyacinth is 2 million VND/cong/year. Water hyacinth is harvested after 2-3 months of planting, with a yield of 200-300 kg of dried water hyacinth/cong/cutting. If carefully cared for, growers can harvest 4-5 times/year. Compared to rice cultivation, growing water hyacinth has the same profit, but the cost is lower because it does not require much care. Dried water hyacinth is currently purchased by traders at 15,000 VND/kg, and the output is always favorable.”
Fresh water hyacinth after cutting is sorted and then dried in the sun for 5 days to dry naturally. After that, people will tie them into large bundles and deliver them to businesses or traders. With old, beautiful water hyacinth, about 10kg of fresh material will yield 1kg of dried fibers; if the water hyacinth is worse, 13-14kg of fresh material will yield 1kg of dried fibers.
For local idle workers, cutting fresh water hyacinth is paid from 400-500 VND/kg, the more diligent the worker, the higher the income. In addition, skilled workers also accept weaving for handicraft companies and cooperatives, with a stable income of 3-6 million VND/month, this is a good standard of living in rural areas.
Ms. Truong Kim Chi in Vinh Thuan Dong commune said: “Before, I was just busy with the fields and gardens, and I didn’t know what else to do in my free time. But since learning how to weave water hyacinth, I have a job and a stable income of about 6 million VND/month. At first, it was difficult, but now I’m used to it and can do any model.”
Keep traditional profession
Hau Giang (old), now Can Tho city, has many large rivers such as Cai Lon river, Nuoc Duc river, Nuoc Trong river... These are rivers with a large amount of water hyacinth, from which a rich source of raw materials from water hyacinth fibers is created to serve weaving and create many environmentally friendly handicraft products. According to the weaving cooperatives, the length of water hyacinth fibers in other places usually fluctuates from 50-60cm, while in the above rivers, thanks to the fertile alluvium, the length is 80-90cm, even in color, very favorable for making handicrafts.
Handicrafts from water hyacinth, the crystallization of creativity and dedication to preserve traditional crafts.
The water hyacinth weaving cooperative of Mr. Tran Quang Thoai in Vinh Thuan Dong commune currently has 12 official members. The cooperative has about 300 models of handicraft products from water hyacinth, with an annual revenue of over 1.5 billion VND. The unit has cooperated with many companies to create output for products, creating jobs for 500 idle workers in the locality. The cooperative's products are not only consumed domestically but also exported. On average, each finished product costs from 30,000 to 2 million VND, depending on the design: hats, handbags, or storage tools, boxes, baskets, decorative products, cabinets, beds, etc.
Mr. Tran Quang Thoai, Director of Quang Thoai Water Hyacinth Weaving Cooperative shared: “Through water hyacinth handicrafts, we hope to convey the message “Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods”, while encouraging green consumption with environmentally friendly products. This is not only a sustainable direction, but also contributes to creating jobs and increasing income for rural workers. We expect that the products will be increasingly accepted by the market, so that the traditional craft can continue to be preserved and developed”.
Article and photos: MONG TOAN
Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/luc-binh-len-doi--a189380.html
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