Since ancient times, the people of Xuan Lai village have lived a life attached to bamboo trees. Previously, the products made from bamboo of the village were mainly baskets, baskets, baskets, bamboo mats, hoe handles, poles, fishing rods. Today, in Xuan Lai, many households invest in technology and production machinery on a large scale, diversifying products with many high-class products such as tables and chairs, sofas, desks, art paintings, etc. lanterns, screens… products made from bamboo bring a feeling of friendliness, simplicity but no less luxury.
Xuan Lai Craft Village is continuing to be preserved and developed by artisans with products of high artistic and use value such as Bamboo paintings, bamboo furniture and even architectural works, decorative design campus. from smoked bamboo. Products of Xuan Lai village are not only well received by domestic people but also known by international friends through tours and handicraft export enterprises.
Bamboo is brought from the provinces of Cao Bang, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son… is the main raw material for making handicrafts in Xuan Lai.
According to longtime workers, to make materials, workers must choose good bamboo and bamboo trees with even, straight, not deep, small knots. Depending on the type of product, the worker chooses a large or small tree, the maturity of the tree to ensure product sustainability.
Next, bamboo will be soaked in pond mud for 4 months, then picked up, cleaned the outer shell and put into a smoked earth oven, creating durability, avoiding termites.
In the bamboo kiln, bamboo is dried and smoked from 4 to 10 days and nights. Through this stage, the dried bamboo and bamboo trees become very light, durable, can withstand mold, termites and retain their color for many years.
Experiencing the manufacturing process of smoked bamboo products, you can see the creativity and talent of Xuan Lai craftsman. The craftsman creates a shape by using a sharpened saw blade to scrape the layers of cockroach wings caused by fire. This is a special way of “drawing” in Xuan Lai village.
Xuan Lai bamboo paintings have rich content, such as banyan trees, water wharfs, communal yards, idyllic living scenes bearing the traditional culture of the Northern region.
The folk painting “Rat Wedding” is performed by a craftsman Xuan Lai by smoked bamboo technique.
A bamboo screen in Xuan Lai village.
Besides smoked paintings, Xuan Lai bamboo has been present in many beautiful architectural works because of its environmentally friendly advantages.
Currently, in Xuan Lai, there are many families producing paintings on smoked bamboo and bamboo materials, the village has 3 villages with 826 households, nearly 50% of households make bamboo, of which there are about 10 large production facilities. Bamboo making has created jobs for hundreds of local workers with an average income of 5 million VND/person/month.
With creativity and skillful hands, from simple bamboo and bamboo trees, Xuan Lai workers have effectively created unique art products and enriched themselves in their native land effectively.