Before, during, and after Tet festival, residents in the Xuan Thieu area, Hoa Hiep Nam Ward, Lien Chieu District, Da Nang are very busy making brooms from ‘dot’ (a kind of reed).

Let’s have a look at some beautiful photos captured by our reporter Xuan Son to learn about this broom making place.

Hoa Hiep Nam locals usually buy reed for broom production from such mountainous districts as Dong Giang and Tay Giang in the neighbouring province of Quang Nam at 7,000 VND per kg.

Ms Dang Thi Can, who has 20 years of experience in making reed brooms in Hoa Hiep Nam Ward, said, around Tet, the wild grass is long enough for cutting. The grass harvest season usually lasts from early the 12th lunar month until the end of the 1st lunar month of the subsequent year when reed blooms.

Reed is dried under the sun for broom production. On average, 3kg of freshly-collected reed usually turns out only 1kg of dried product.

The price per kg of already-dried reed is fixed at 28,000 VND.

Each labourer is paid an average daily wage of 250,000VND for tying up dried reed in bundles.

The work is quite exhausting as labourers work in the scorching summer heat, and their clothes are covered with a large volume of dust from the grass-like plant.

Such labourers are from localities which are far from the city. A Co Tu ethnic minority man is pictured weighing dried reed

A single reed is divided into smaller branches. Then these branches are bound into clusters. As many as 15 clusters are combined together to make a broom.

Ms Can’s husband, Nguyen Van Nam, is seen tightening brooms with coloured braided nylon ropes.

Any unwanted dust is swept away from brooms

A reed sweeper is usually sold at 20,000 VND and more, depending on the size and quality. Ms Can expressed her worry about the fact that the time-honoured craft is facing the threat of falling into oblivion as many people, especially the young, have turned to other jobs in the context of rapid urbanisations.