Bamboo factory

Bamboo is a material that is widely available and used in Myanmar. The sustainable and versatile material is used to build houses, scaffolding, make woven walls, furniture and basketry etc.

We visited a bamboo factory in Mandalay, and it was interesting to see how the hollow and tall bamboo shoots can be transformed into thin strips to be woven into all kinds of products using quite primitive tools.

Visiting a bamboo factory in Mandalay

Bamboo furniture, homeware, baskets and footballs are sold in the streets

1st & 2nd rows: A house made of bamboo; Last row: An eco toilet hut made of wood and bamboo

Top left: Brooms made of bamboo and grass; Top right and bottom: woven coloured mats

After the visit to the bamboo factory, we visited Thein Nyo silk weaving workshop in Amarapura. Since Amarapura is a former royal city, hence it has a long silk-weaving heritage. Patterned longyis, scarves, cushion covers, handbags and other textile goods are made and sold in the shop next to the workshop.

Thein Nyo silk weaving workshop in Amarapura

Around Inle Lake, the ancient craft of lotus weaving has survived and we were immensely fascinated by this unique material. We visited a workshop and watched the demonstration of how a weaver skillfully drew out thin and delicate lotus fibres from the cut stems. Amazing.

Lotus and silk workshop around Inle Lake

Lotus is a plant notably related to Buddhism, thus the robes made of lotus were offered to Buddhist monks in the old days. Since this weaving technique is fairly time-consuming, most of the products on sale now are mixed with silk, making them more affordable than items made from pure lotus.

However, due to lack of government support and infrastructure, it is extremely difficult for these products to be exported out of Myanmar, and so they are sold mostly to tourists.

Padong tribal (long-neck) woman weaving around Inle Lake

Tapestry and embroidery workshop in Mandalay

During this trip, I was quite astonished by the variety of traditional arts and crafts that have been preserved in Myanmar. It is a shame that most of the beautifully crafted products are not available outside of Myanmar. Since Myanmar is changing rapidly, I hope that the traditional craft industry can survive and flourish one day like Thailand and Vietnam.

Lace artisans and lace merchandise sold around Inle Lake