Bamboo products will assist in income
generation
March 25, 2004
A GINA feature by Candace Field
More employment and income-generating opportunities
will soon be available for Guyanese, especially those in hinterland
areas.
Making beautiful craft and furniture from bamboo will become a
viable source of income for those who are able to master the Chinese
art.
Bamboo has always been a stem grown wildly and abundantly in various
parts of the country but only until recently have the Chinese
been able to enlighten Guyanese on how to make full use of the
readily available and inexpensive commodity .
Through an agreement between the Governments of Guyana and China,
the current bamboo craft training programme at the National Exhibition
Centre, Sophia, Georgetown, emerged.
Training sessions have been going smoothly with the first batch
of students already graduated and another batch now in training.
Experts De-Chao Tang, Gong Li-Ming and Zou Qi-Hong have been getting
along well with students and many students have expressed satisfaction
with their progress.
De-Chao is a senior bamboo craftsman and has been working at Tao-Jiang
Bamboo Craft factory in China since 1968, while Li-Ming worked
at the factory from 1988.
The training sessions have been divided into two areas: furniture
and weaving.
Qi-Hong noted that classes will continue with each furniture-making
class lasting six months, while the weaving classes last 3 to
4 months.
Students from far off communities in the hinterland areas of Guyana
are also part of the programme and they are accommodated at a
dormitory in the city.
These students plan to return to their communities and impart
their knowledge to fellow villagers. Once the art is mastered,
trainees believe that they can make and sell their products, for
a profit.
“ I feel the programme is good because it can help in finding
employment throughout my area”, said Sylvester Torres of
Laluni Creek, Soesdyke.
He contended that he plans to open a factory and employ persons
in Soesdyke after he graduates.
When interviewed, the students were in the process of completing
stools, chairs, and tables and on a display counter nearby were
finished coloured hats, car seats, bowls, ornaments and other
products all made of bamboo.
Qi-Hong pointed out that colour was put into the items with the
use of dyes brought in from China. However, he noted that dyes
used for colouring clothing and sold in Guyana can be used a well.
The bamboo used for making craft is also varnished as a preservative
measure to make them stronger, and to seal the colour.
Making furniture simply requires regular carpentry tools such
as mallets, hammers, drills, saws and screws.
Qi-Hong stated that they prefer the students to call them Albert,
Tom and George as the students feel more comfortable pronouncing
these names than their Chinese ones.
He disclosed that all the bamboo used in the programme is provided
by local suppliers and that the bamboo grown here is of excellent
quality for furniture and craft.
Before being used, the bamboo is boiled in specific chemicals
in a large container brought from China.
Boiling of the stem prevents pests and insects from attacking
the products, ensuring they will last a long time. He also noted
that bamboo furniture lasts even longer than wooden furniture,
depending on climatic conditions.
Qi-Hong noted that Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce,
Manzoor Nadir has been assisting the group with the supply of
bamboo for the project.
“ I think in Guyana people would prefer bamboo furniture.
We didn’t see much bamboo products in the country but people
will eventually like the furniture”, he said.
TOP
Thursday,
March 25, 2004