Pho Trach Palm Mattress Craft Village

About 50 km north of Hue city, Pho Trach is a peaceful village in Phong Binh commune, Phong Dien district, Thua Thien Hue province. Pho Trach is a low-lying area, surrounded by floods all year round. However, Pho Trach is favored by Mother Nature with a type of sedge grass that has a strong and persistent vitality. The sedge grass grows up to be resilient, strong and has a very natural fragrance. That type of grass contributes to the formation of a traditional craft village hundreds of years old - the craft of making Pho Trach sedge mats.
The process of making a sedge mattress is quite elaborate, going through many stages. The sedge is cut from the field and dried in natural sunlight for 3-5 days. After being dried, the sedge is very tough and strong. People choose sedge trees of the same size to facilitate weaving the product. Then comes the sedge beating stage, the sedge is put in a mortar to pound the sedge fibers to make them flat and soft before weaving. When weaving, people compare the soft sedge fibers and arrange them side by side in the same direction, about 20-30 fibers, turn them back in a direction perpendicular to the previously arranged fibers, patterns or letters can be added to increase the aesthetics, when fastening, just put two fibers on top of two fibers like that until the desired length is reached, then start twisting to keep the mattress the right size and not to come loose.
The products of the cypress mattress in Pho Trach have constantly improved and innovated in design. In addition to the main product of cypress mattress, the village now has many new designs such as tissue boxes, night lights, handbags, trays, hats, mats, key chains, decorative carpets, etc. which are now popular in the market because of their beautiful colors, durability and environmental friendliness, as well as to meet the new needs of society and maintain people's income.