VietNamNet Bridge - In 1987, Mr. Chau, 88, won a national fine art handicraft prize for his bamboo-made lobsters, and since then bamboo shrimps have become the main source of income for his family.

From rough bamboo sticks, Mr. Chau in An Nhon Town, Binh Dinh has created a special handicraft product - lobsters – which are sold for tens of USD.

Chau said to make the bamboo shrimps look real, he observed lobsters very carefully. He bought shrimp shells to learn about the structure. It took him a dozen years to be able to make the complete bamboo lobsters.

To ensure the endurance of bamboo lobsters, Chau’s family soaks bamboo chunks in a pond for six months then dries them under the sun before covering them with a special substance.  

Six people in Chau’s family make bamboo lobsters, including Chau and his wife, his son and daughter-in-law and two nieces.

They produce three sizes of bamboo lobsters, priced at VND350,000/product, VND400,000/product, and VND1 million/product.

Each month the family sells 200-300 bamboo lobsters on average. The number could increase by 2-3 times before the Lunar New Year (Tet holiday).