WATER HYACINTH- THE QUINTESSENCE OF TRADITIONAL CULTURE VIETNAM
VIET STARLIGHT IMPORT AND EXPORT CO.,LTD has more than many years of experiences in producing and supplying products made of natural and eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, coconut, rattan, water hyacinth, seagrass, palm leaf, etc.,
After a long development process, with creativity and skillful hands, our artisans have created hundreds of different weaving techniques to make highly attractive products that have been sold widely on both domestic and foreign markets.
Today we will introduce the material which is very useful and an creating products by talent craftmens in Viet Nam. That is the water hyacinth.
Currently, inside and outside Southern and Northen, there are also a number of ponds and lagoons with long-stemmed duckweed as raw materials. People raised water hyacinth grow together to take care of them. At about three months of age, the water hyacinth enters the mature stage with the trunk reaching 60 - 90 cm in length. People cut the water hyacinth tree close to the base, remove the leaves, then leave it in the sun for a few days to dry the water hyacinth, then it will be treated with termites, then into a material tree to knit the water hyacinth product
The craft of knitting products from water hyacinth does not require complicated techniques and attracts a lot of workers. Until now, there were many forms of knitting hyacinth products. It is knitting hyacinth carpet, also known as water hyacinth plate, and knitting frames, or knitting patterns combined with sedge. The technique of knitting water hyacinth is very simple. There are three basic types of knitting. The first type is rice grain knitting, also known as an eye knitting, the second type is herringbone knitting and the third type is knitting puppet, or spider knitting. Each knitting style is suitable for each different product. The fishbone pattern is often used for carpet weaving. To weave shelves for newspapers and magazines, people just use rice grain knitting. Particularly for framed products, people can knit according to the pattern of rice grains or knitting, in which, the knitting pattern is very popular. Depending on customer needs, people weave different products. However, the raw material areas here are not enough to meet the production needs, so establishments have to buy more duckweed from the South.
Due to market demand, the profession has spread to many communes in the district. The localities also organize vocational training and train workers to participate in making export goods. However, the vital condition for the profession is that the owner of the establishment, the enterprise must always change designs and innovate constantly to create new products to attract customers, especially in the international market. Farmers and craftsmen are now supported by information technology. With a computer connected to the network, accessing to customers, with the quick favorable market and designing products on a computer that are both fast and beautiful is increasingly meeting the development of the craft village. Since then, the artisans create a wide variety of products, from simple types such as carpets, hyacinth mats to more complex products such as newspaper shelves, wine bottles, paper trays, baskets, lanes, storage laundry baskets, and lounge chairs ... These items are relatively rich and varied in styles, sizes, colors, customers can order samples according to their preferences for manufacturers to make. Our Craftsmen will be very creative and design useful and functional products such as water hyacinth laundry basket, water hyacinth basket with lid, water hyacinth rug mat, water hyacinth placemats, water hyacinth clutch women, water hyacinth tray, water hyacinth cushion, water hyacinth wicker cat house, water hyacinth napkin ring, water hyacinth furniture….
In the art of making water hyacinths, there is a basic principle that is not to paint, but to keep its natural color. If you want to give the product colors, you have to dye the material before knitting the product, just like dyeing papyrus before weaving mats. In addition, to beautify the product to attract customers, people often use decorative materials such as hay flowers, ropes, ropes or beads made of plastic or glass to flowering leaves on hyacinth products. This practice is particularly popular in overseas markets. Water hyacinth products are not only popular in the domestic market but also exported to Western European countries such as UK, USA,Canada, Denmark, Germany….and exported to Taiwan, Japan, and China, Korea.
The process of producing beautiful and convenient handicraft products for living water hyacinth is as follows:
1.The fresh water hyacinth will be sun dried for 5-7 days to reach the plasticity ratio of 12 kg of fresh water hyacinth equal to 1 kg of dry water hyacinth.
2. Before making the product, the worker must soak the water hyacinth in water for about 5 minutes so that it does not break when knitting the water.
3.The craftsmen is finishing the final line of the product.
4.It is very important to fix the product so it is usually done by skilled craftsmen.
In addition to attracting international markets, water hyacinth handicraft products are also popular with Vietnamese people. Today, we see hyacinth handmade products present in clothing shops, restaurants, hotels ... to enhance the solemnity and attract the first glimpse from the customers.
Only from the seemingly very normal water hyacinth trees, under the skillful hands of skilled craftsmen and great aesthetic creativity. The hyacinth products were born, becoming works of art perfectly combine traditional and modern features, creating a certain impression for users.