Making cane and bamboo products
"We sit and make many of this all day, it is fun and enjoyable. We have got five mattress both for single and double bed size for sale. We sell them here but we do move place to place" said Gopi a Bamboo product maker. She was seated near small park in Adyar at the traffic circle where her and Akistha ma do their magic.
There are a few shops along ,Veerabadran Street where we sell these items. Usually we sell the products in thiruvamiyar market, but occasionally we come here. It is hard to carry the bamboo until here. And if they plants brought them here we do not want to carry them to Kelambakkam where we are staying. Travelling with the MTC buses carrying many things is not easy.
Well, not sure of the exact number of years but we have been in making and selling many of this, she said showing me other products, a big and small bamboo baskets, muram(winnowing basket) and panambu (bamboo sheets). Probably, we have been around the last three decades or so. In spite of many ailments, we continue to do it because it has become a hobby now.
We took up this job out of necessity and we had made a living out of for past years. We both have children and our husbands are still alive. Approximately, 6000 to 10 000 in month, depending on how lucky we are that month. We charge Rs. 300 for the mattress usually. The shops that buy it from us do not have fixed prices, the rates vary from time to time.
It isn’t an easy job, especially now that we also have household chores . "I am 48 now said Gopi. It takes nearly three hours to complete a mattress depending on the size. We both fast and can easily finish one product. People should buy this product the strength is magnification and it is a traditional product.
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