The eighth day of the fourth lunar month is the traditional festival of the Zhuang people in Natong Town - the Farm Tools Festival. Now that the "April 8th" agricultural tool festival is approaching, the folk craftsmen in the county are busy preparing for the upcoming festival.
Bamboo products made by bamboo weaving farm tool craftsman Huang Diruo. Photo by Lu Yuxia
In Sun Hetun, Nazhong Village, Natong Town, recently, early every morning, Uncle Huang Diruo, who is nearly seventy years old, drove an electric tricycle to the bamboo forest at the head of the village to cut bamboo.
Huang Diruo, a bamboo weaving farm tool craftsman: The bamboo I chose is Guangning bamboo, which has thin skin and is relatively flexible, which is suitable for making bamboo farming tools.
Huang Diruo prepares to make bamboo products in the workshop. Photo by Lu Yuxia
The cut bamboo, with the head and leaves removed, can be pulled home. Walking into the small workshop of Uncle Huang Dinuo's house, the aroma of bamboo and wood comes to the face, and the shelves and floors in the house are placed with bamboo products of different sizes and shapes, including bamboo curtains, dustpans, bamboo baskets, bamboo baskets, hats, and steamed rice barrels. Each one is exquisitely crafted and has a rustic flavor.
Huang Diruo, a craftsman of bamboo farming tools: These are all prepared for Natong's "April 8th", and I will weave and sell them at Fuweng Lake in a few days.
Huang Diruo makes bamboo products in the workshop. Photo by Lu Yuxia
Uncle Huang Dinuo said that he followed his grandfather to learn bamboo weaving since he was a child, and this love has lasted for half a century. Over the years, Uncle Huang has continued to improve his skills and innovate, and he has also become a well-known bamboo weaving master. Dustpans used to be used to sort grains, but now they are popular for food and are very popular in the market. Uncle Huang said that the dustpan he is making now starts from the selection of bamboo, to splitting bamboo, opening strips, scraping, and weaving..... It will take almost half a month to complete.
Huang Diruo, a craftsman of bamboo farming tools: There are fewer people buying now, I do some in the agricultural slack, and they are all regular customers who introduce friends to buy, and now young people are reluctant to learn, hoping that this craft can be passed on.
Huang Fuqian (left), a bamboo farming tool craftsman, makes bamboo products. Photo by Lu Yuxia
Huang Fuqian, a bamboo weaving farm tool craftsman who is also Sun Hetun, was passed down by his parents when he was a child and mastered a hand-weaving skill. Master Huang usually runs the transportation business in the field, and makes bamboo farming tools at home in his spare time, and his farming tools are well received on WeChat Moments and Douyin, and are sold online through the e-commerce platform of Longan County E-commerce Public Service Center, and the goods are in short supply.
Huang Fuqian, a craftsman of bamboo farming tools: The fans, baskets and gnats with the word "Long An" that I knit are very good to sell on e-commerce platforms.
Bamboo products made by Huang Fuqian. Photo by Lu Yuxia Bamboo weaving products made by Huang Fuqian. Photo by Lu Yuxia
In the agricultural tools exhibition room of the Nazhong Village Committee, hundreds of agricultural tools and handicrafts with a strong rural atmosphere are displayed, such as bamboo mats, bamboo baskets, dustpans, bucket hats, waterwheels and rattan weaving, which make people feel like returning to the agricultural era. In recent years, Nazhong Village has been committed to inheriting and promoting the traditional culture of the Zhuang people, protecting and inheriting folk handicrafts, digging deep into the potential value of traditional skills, and helping more people transform "fingertip skills" into "fingertip economy".
Nashige Village Farm Tools Showroom. Photo by Lu Yuxia
Li Jianhong, Secretary of the Party Branch of Nazhong Village, Natong Town: Nazhong Village established the "Zhuang Township Qiaoniang" Federation and convened women to participate in manual training classes, mainly so that left-behind women and women who cannot go out to work can achieve employment and increase income at home.
Women of the Nazhong Village Qiaoniang Association weave hand-woven baskets. Photo by Lu Yuxia
It is understood that during this year's "April 8" agricultural tool festival, special agricultural tools, handicrafts on-site production display and other display activities will be held in Fuong Lake, welcome everyone to come to understand the folk culture of "that" township, appreciate the unique charm of traditional agricultural tools.
(Wentu/Lu Yuxia photo/Huang Duzheng Lu Yuxia)