15 March
Local residents of Letpadan village, Mohnyin Township, are earning extra income by working in the traditional grass broom making businesses, said U Tun Tun Oo, the ward administrator from the Letpadan village.
Letpadan village, with 140 households, is located beside the Mandalay–Myitkyina railway. Members of the entire village earn their family incomes by making brooms. The traditionally made brooms from the village are well known for their good quality.
U Tun Tun Oo, the ward administrator, said there are 140 households in the village, and that nearly all the women from the village are making brooms. Some are working on their own and some hire workers to manufacture brooms.
“We can make 20 brooms per day if we don’t do other things. A broom is currently sold for K 800. We can make a profit of K 200 if we deduct the costs of the raw materials used in making the brooms,” said Daw Mya Yee, one of the village broom-makers.
Based on the number of broom stalks, the costs are different. A stalk is bought for K 8 or K 10, and 100 broom stalks can be used to assemble three brooms.
The broom stalks are grown naturally in the lowland of Kachin State and on the mountains, according to the local villagers.
The locally made brooms are primarily delivered for sale to Shwebo, Sagaing and Mandalay.—Kyaw Kyaw (Mohnyin) (Translated by Hay Mar)
