Vietnamese fear sweep of cheaper foreign dusters
HANOI // Fluffy, soft and easy to buy off the back of a bicycle, Vietnam’s chicken feather dusters have ruled the roost for generations.
But artisans fear for their future as buyers turn to cheaper alternatives. The dusters have long been a staple in Vietnamese homes to clear cobwebs from ancestral altars or hardto-reach corners of the house.
But today, cheap synthetic dusters have flooded the market. “We don’t earn as much money as we could in other jobs, but I do this job to keep my family tradition alive,” said Nguyen Huy Tho, 36. His family has been making the dusters for more than a century, and unlike his five sisters who work in office jobs or as teachers, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps after graduating from college. Mr Tho used to earn about US$350 (Dh1,285) a month selling the dusters, but today profits are down by a third.
His grandfather, 85, who still lends a hand occasionally, says many young people are now looking for better-paid jobs.
Each duster takes about two hours to make, and they sell for about $7 in Hanoi. Nguyen Minh Quang, who sells feather dusters, says sales have dipped in recent years, but he still cycles 50 kilometres into Hanoi daily to peddle his wares.
“Now that there are plastic dusters in the market, fewer traditional feather dusters are sold. I don’t get much money selling them, and I get really tired cycling to Hanoi every day,” he said.