'Damyang Bamboo Craftmen's Cooperative' contains our bamboo trees in the spirit of artisans

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Damyang will remind you of some things. Among them, Damyang's bamboo trees are particularly representative. Damyang has the best weather conditions for the growth of bamboo since ancient times. Damyang is also famous for its bamboo crafts, as it is famous for bamboo.

 

The merchants from all over the country gathered to purchase bamboo spoons, chopsticks, trays, bowls, baskets, and Bokjorigae at Damyang's bamboo market until plastic and cheap Chinese bamboo crafts came into our home.  However, our traditional bamboo crafts are now barely surviving as tourist souvenirs. Thus, the bamboo craftsmen and artisans of Damyang joined forces to form the Damyang bamboo craftsmen's cooperative in 2015. They decided to restore Damyang bamboo handicrafts to suit the times and to make them widely used. Members of the Damyang bamboo craftsmen's cooperative also carried out activities to develop bamboo products with designers to escape typical tourist souvenirs' standards.

 

Lee Jun, the successor of bamboo handicrafts at Damyang Craftsmen's Cooperative, said, "I started handcrafting because I liked the scent of bamboo trees and the sound of cutting along the bamboo grain. I need to concentrate for a week to complete a piece of work, and when it is compared to cheap Chinese products, I'm tearing up." he said. "In the future, we will reinterpret not only existing bamboo tour souvenirs but also kitchen household items in a modern design to suit the home-cook and well-cook trends. We will make it more valuable and more useful to hold Damyang's touch," he said.

 

Meanwhile, Damyang bamboo craftsmen's cooperative produced a promotional video by participating in a project conducted by the Jeonnam Bioindustry Foundation's Eco-friendly Agri-Bio Research Center. The cooperative participated in 2020 Youth Village Road, which encourages community revitalization and promotes investment in the sixth industry.