Strange Beds Make People Live High Standard

Thursday, October 18, 2007 - by seiha

     A big boat floats on the Mekong River. Looking from the boat, though it is in summer there are a lot of trees with green and red leaves that locate at the other side of the river. About 15 minutes the boat reaches the bank. Under a mango tree many people are waiting for the boat. Actually there, it is called Koh Ukgnatey. To make traveling around this island you will see at least a house has a strange bed, it is a loom. 
     Under a big wooden house, Ms. Yei Sielie sitting in a chair said that besides doing farming, her family has expected on handicraft. She is a textile worker. Weaving has become her family traditional since she was, 16. Yei Sielie is, now, 42-year-old and was taught on weaver by her mother and she tried to observe the lesson from the villagers when she was free.
     “I loved to work as a weaver so much when I was at primary school,” said Yei Sielie. Every day after class she was not vast time, she took that chance to concentrate on the loom from her mother. Studying from her mother, Yei Sielie tried to observe all techniques. “Because I was young my mother did not allow me to knit,” she said.
     After 16 years of her patience she can, now, earn enough money. With smiling she reminded “I endeavored money to build a new house.” As a result in 1999 she had enough money to buy a bid wooden house as she had dreamed. The house costs around 10 thousands dollars.
     Expert in her career, Sielie with her own two children live in a proper standard and she told that nowadays she can interweave many kinds such as Tbong Pech, Krorb Kontod, Krorb Konteum and Kon Hieng.
She can produce two skirts for a week and a skirt she sales 23 dollars. “In summer was the best seller,” she added.
      “When I was young I was a famous weaver in this island,” Ms. Sielie’s mother said. Miss. Phar Konika, a daughter of Yei Sielie stated “I was not only happy with my mother job, but also I wanted to become a good clothes designer.” In her grade 9 the little girl added that besides studying at school, every Sunday she always helps her mother to interweave the skirts.
     There are two kinds of filament thread. The one from a cocoon that eats Mon leaves is better than the one from a cocoon eats Kor leaves, said Ms. Sep Lot a clothes merchant. She added that we spent 6 months to finish a loom.
     A chief of Ukgnatey commune Mr. Mouv Sam told that there are 5 villages in this commune, while 312 hectar is the hold commune area. There are 1.142 families and 5.331 population. And 25% is weavers and the number of the weaver people increase substantially.