Knitting Portable Bamboo Traps (Lọp) at Thoi Long Commune

Photo: Metinfo

At Thoi Long Commune (O Mon - Can Tho) there is a trade of knitting portable bamboo traps for catching tiny shrimp (instrument for catching tiny shrimps). This trade is considered as an indispensible means of earning a living for thousands of farmers living in flood areas in the Mekong Delta in the yearly flood season. The commune of 300 households becomes bustling with knitting activity from May to September of the lunar year. Visitors to this place will witness how subtle, and meticulous workers are in each step from making the brim, splitting bamboo splints, braided cuttings, weaving frame to fastening the body part and assembling them into a complete trap.

Each year Thoi Long Commune produces 400-500 thousand products (portable shrimp traps) which will be sold throughout the Mekong Delta.