| UPDATE : 5 July 2010 | |||
Nature has provided residents of Chanthaburi province’s Baan Samet Ngam community with an ideal raw material for making mats. When brackish water produces sedge, this material can be put to good use since it a durable form of fiber that has natural mold-prevention qualities. Both the locals who weave the mats and the province in general have benefited from the solid reputation the weavers of the mats have built up over the years. While locals can see the benefit of preserving the tradition, production is likely to ease off and eventually even disappear altogether unless there is a resurgence of interest among younger members of the community. A Source of Pride A group of women from Samet Ngam established a formal mat weaving group in 1979, under the support of the community department, under the ministry of interior.
“Mat weaving was something we used to do for fun, while also providing a source of extra income,” says Jaruwan Chareonngam, who is president of the group. “It used to be fun since during those times everyone would contribute and help out during every part of the process,” she says, adding that the situation has now changed and that some members of the group had become disenchanted.
This could be due to the fact that the weaving process is very time consuming. It can take up to a full day for a skilled weaver to produce a single section of mat measuring about one meter by two meters and this is only able to generate a profit of about 70 baht (US$2.15). So while there is no shortage of demand for the mats, the work itself fails to inspire younger people and the number of active weavers continues to decrease. Many older locals are tempted by more financially-rewarding occupations, such as working at a shrimp farm. Wealth of Resources While the number of skilled weavers is on the decline, the community received a boost in 1997 when the Samet Ngam Handicraft Center was established as a form of support for the weaving group. It is tasked with assisting those involved in weaving for a living, as well as helping out with finance-related matters and sales and marketing. Jaruwan points out that the center has a limited source of funds available as loans to members, while it also provides a form of trading channel, so they needn’t worry too much about sales. Members receive about 70% of the profits generated, while the center takes 30% to support its operations. In spite of these initiatives, the number of members of the group continues to dwindle falling from 52 during the first year to just 32 at present. Jaruwan says that when the center recently organized a weaving course, only a handful of people registered an interest. Nevertheless, she has no intention of giving up. “I’ll continue to struggle while I have the strength. We just hope that our grandchildren will show an interest in order to keep the tradition alive.” | |||
วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 22 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2553
Samet Ngam Strives to Keep Its Mat Making Traditions Alive
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