A unique straw gasket of the Tay people in Ban Lien
Straw gasket, a familiar item of upland people more than 10 years ago. Currently, the straw gaskets seem to be no longer there, but in Ban Lien commune, Bac Ha district, people still love and use them.
Ms. Lam Thi Truong weaves a straw gasket.
Straw gaskets are carefully woven by the Tay people of Ban Lien commune, bringing many benefits in their lives. Although no longer used to lie down as before, straw gaskets are still used by many people in Ban Lien to sit and protect their house, barn, poultry from sun and wind...
Ms. Lam Thi Truong, 61 years old in Doi 3 village, Ban Lien commune with many years of experience in weaving straw gaskets said: The craft of weaving straw gasket is a tradition long time ago. More than 10 years ago, the straw gasket was woven and sold at the market for 10 to 15 thousand dong/ piece, now it is priced at 100 thousand dong/ piece, therefore creating more income for the workers. Many people when seeing the use of this item have ordered to use it. The gaskets are often woven according to the size of the buyer to suit different uses.
According to skilled people, in order to have a beautiful, durable and firm straw gaskets, the most important thing is to choose the type of sticky rice straw; The long, chewy stalk is dried, then woven into gaskets. Now, the weaver also uses pineapple string and big snell string to braid the straw to create a bond, making the product more durable and firm.
Although the straw gákets have many uses, today there are very few people who know how to weave; skill people take at least 2 days to complete a gasket 2 m long, 1.6 - 1.8 m wide.
Straw chair of the Tay people.
Straw gasket weaving is now one of the jobs associated with tourism development, attracting tourists to visit Ban Lien. People weaving straw gaskets not only creating household utensils but are gradually creating new products such as sitting straw gaskets, straw chairs, straw mat, straw bags to serve the needs of local people and tourists…
From skillful hands, the Tay people in Ban Lien have been creating straw gaskets to serve family and village life and create a unique culture in daily life, contributing to develop local community tourism.
