Hello everyone, my name is Wan-ting.
Right now I am in Sigang .
I have heard rush bag is really popular in Sigang.
But what is rush and how to make rush bag?
Let’s go and take a look!
This is Miss Kang from the rush factory.
Hi, Miss Kang!
Hello! And also hello to the audience!
I saw many bags here and I heard the material is really special.
Can you introduce me more about rush?
There are two types of rush grass.
One is in a circle shape and another is in a triangle shape.
And our factory mainly use triangle rush grass.
After it is planted,
Sigang rush can be harvested about three months later.
In total, rush can be harvested three times a year.
After it is harvested, rush must be dried under the sun
before it can be used to make handicrafts.
Back when there were no plastic ropes,
people used rush to tie things.
Here is our showroom.
There are many rush products.
You can take a look!
Woo I thought you only have bags!
Rush can be used to make a variety of products!
In addition to bags,
it can also be used to make shoes,
tissue boxes, and pencil bags.
Wow,the owl is really cute!
How can you make this kind of product?
The produce process of the products
is begin with mat-chosen.
After selecting the mattress surface you like,
the staff will measure the correct size of the mattress
and trim it.
After trimming comes stitching.
Some mattresses are stitched by hand.
I heard the makers of these bags are some aunties of the community.
Can you introduce me more about the factory?
The majority of the factory members are ladies
who live in the neighborhood.
All the products here
are made entirely by mothers in the community.
They design, cut, stitch,
and even set up stalls to sell the products.
These local mothers add creativity
into this forgotten industry,
and bringing it more up to date.
They bring vigor and vitality to the traditional industry,
which allow more people to see the beauty of traditional industries,
and revitalize the community.
Why did you want to set up this kind of factory in Sigang ?
The reason why we set up the group is
because we have a mat factory here in the neighborhood.
As the decline of the traditional industry,
the factory faces closure.
Back then the factory gave away grass mats to local residents,
and local administrators were sad
to see Taiwan’s only rush grass mat factory on the decline.
In the end, the factory worked together with the community.
They invited bamboo weaving experts
to teach local women how to make grass mat products.
The products went viral,
and they received a lot of orders.
As a result, they set up a workshop,
and after years of effort,
rush bags became more renowned
and turned into a souvenir of Sigang.
Do you know that?
The bag can be bought on the airplanes of the China Airline.
It makes Tainan, Taiwan be seen by the whole world.
The community would release new rush bag designs each year
based on the latest fashion trends.
These local women know exactly what hipsters like!
These bags are designed based on 24 solar terms.
Different color indicates different solar terms.
Let’s see which one is my birthday bag!
Ah! I see ! This one!
Brown! I like brown.
There are 24 colors for the 24 solar terms.
What color do you belong to?
Come and check it out.
The combination of the community
and the local factory creates
an innovation power to upgrade the local industry,
and also reunite the whole community.
Next time if you visit Sigang, never miss rush bag!