 A member of the Tong Bong Brocade Weaving Cooperative is at work (Photo: VOV) |
After the Lunar New Year holiday, H Yam Bkrong of Cu Ebong hamlet returned to her familiar job - weaving brocade products for Tong Bong Cooperative.
The job has given her a stable income over the past 15 years. Her income used to be mainly from farming. Now she spends most of her time brocade weaving.
All members of her three-generation family know how to weave brocade. Five of them are joining the Cooperative’s members, said H Yam.
She recalled, “After being trained, I knew how to weave and separate the fibres. I taught my younger sisters, who would then be skillful too. I also gave instructions to my two children. Both of them can weave now.”
“I love my job. I do less farming now, so I take advantage of any time I have to weave at home. When I participate in the Cooperative, I get a salary and mostly do weaving by machine. At home, I weave by the traditional method,” said H Yam.
H Phe Be BKrong is H Yam’s daughter and the youngest member of the Tong Bong Brocade Weaving Cooperative. She is a final-year student of the Dak Lak College of Pedagogy, and has been engaged in brocade weaving for 4 years.
 H Phe Be Bkrong (L) is meticulously weaving a piece of brocade |
Having been taught by her mother at 16 years old, H Phe Be BKrong first learned to weave out of curiosity, but then she become interested in the craft. She followed a vocational training course jointly organized by the cooperative and the provincial vocational college.
When she was 18, H Phe Be mastered the weaving skills, and has been a member of the Cooperative ever since.
She said that the work has helped her feel proud of traditional handicrafts and generated income to cover study costs and subsistence expenses.
“I’ve grasped all the patterns on shirts and skirts because each type has different meanings. To weave these patterns requires perseverance and diligence – the characteristics anyone must have if they wish to follow and preserve the profession,” said H Phe Be Bkrong.
Established in 2003, Tong Bong Brocade Weaving Cooperative initially had 10 members. Now the number is 45, all of whom are Ede ethnic women from Ea Kao commune in Buon Ma Thuot city.
The work at the Cooperative is diverse, thus stabilizing members’ income and attracting others to participate.
Last year, it earned more than 52,000 USD with members’ average monthly income of up to 150 USD.
Tong Bong brocade products are available mainly in Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Quang Nam.
H Dium Bya, a Cooperative member, said, “As the new year has arrived, we wish happiness, peace, and good health for the whole family and Cooperative members. I hope that the Cooperative will develop further. Our products will be more widely known. Our business, and the introduction and promotion of our products, will be easier.”
Participating in the Cooperative has helped many Ede women in Ea Kao commune have a stable job, increase their income, and make full use of their leisure time.
At the same time, the brocade weaving craft and traditional handicrafts of the Ede people have been preserved despite the developments of modern society.