Ca Hom-Ben Ba mat village in Tra Cu district, Tra Vinh province, supplies the Mekong delta with hundreds of thousands of beautiful sedge mats each year.
We followed our friend, a native of Tra Cu district, to visit Ca Hom-Ben Ba village by the side of Hau river in Ham Tan commune. The first image we saw in the village was women sitting next to looms.
Ham Tan commune has 35 hectares of sedge, the material for making mats.
Splitting the sedges.
The sedges are dried after being dyed.
Ca Hom-Ben Ba village has 450 families making sedge mats.
Drying sedge fibers.
Fresh sedges are dyed with vibrant colors.
Fresh sedges are dried in the sun.
Artisans need to check if sedge fibers are even before weaving. |
Ngo Thi Pho, from Ca Hom-Ben Ba, said that in the past, villagers first made simple mats only to serve their own needs. Gradually, the trade developed as a major source of income for locals.
Today, people in Ca Hom-Ben Ba, from old to young, can weave beautiful mats with sophisticated patterns. The trade has now become a traditional craft which is preserved and handed down from one generation to another in the village.
Ca Hom-Ben Ba mats are mostly white, red, green, yellow and purple with sophisticated patterns on both sides, showing the skills and aesthetic taste of the makers.
Fresh sedges are dyed in various colors.
Weaving stage.
Ca Hom-Ben Ba sedge mats are popular in the southern market.
Ca Hom-Ben Ba mats come in five colors: white, red, green, yellow and purple.
Sedge mats are dried under the sun.
Ca Hom-Ben Ba village annually supplies around 100,000 pairs to the Mekong delta.
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Ca Hom-Ben Ba is now a popular mat brand in southern Vietnam. Each year, people in the village sell around 100,000 mats to the domestic market, mostly in the Mekong delta.
By Thong Hai & Nguyen Luan