ESG News

The Volunteer Activities of the Novatek Foundation started again in September, offering companionship to disadvantaged students with limited educational resources. The volunteers spent 2 days accompanying students from the Taoyuan Reindeer Children’s Home and Taichung Tsu-Hsin Children’s Home separately. Through the sharing of the founder’s personal experience, they learned the craft of bulrush weaving and understood how young entrepreneurs have revitalized the craftsmanship of bulrush weaving that has been passed down from generation to generation in Taiwan for nearly 300 years.

Under the scorching September sun, Novatek volunteers accompanied disadvantaged youth to Sunnyrush Workshop located in Yuanli Township, Miaoli County. As soon as we entered the Workshop, the fragrance of the elegant bulrushes in the room instantly relieved our bodies and minds from the late summer heat. First of all, the founder of the Workshop gave us a brief intro to the history of bulrush weaving in Taiwan as well as the Workshop’s business philosophy. Only then did we realize that most of the senior craftsmen in the Workshop learned their weaving skills under the guidance of their mothers and sisters starting in childhood. The oldest craftsman employed at the Workshop is over 90 years old and continues to carry out her work every day! In addition to having more people discover hand-made bulrush products, the Sunnyrush Workshop also insists on giving back to senior craftsmen at a fair price.

The process of weaving a bulrush hat starting from one bulrush to put on the final touches turns out to be very complicated. During the event, an experienced bulrush weaving instructor was invited to demonstrate the steps of bulrush weaving, including “bulrush sorting,” “bulrush hammering” and “bulrush hat weaving.” Under the guidance of volunteers, the students learned how to use a needle to separate a bulrush leaf into two or three sections, which the weavers called “bulrush sorting.” The students also learned about the “bulrush hammering” process in which the separated bulrush leaves are tied into a bundle and beaten with a wooden hammer to soften the leaves, helping to avoid finger cuts and injuries when weaving. Furthermore, the woven bulrush hats must be hot-pressed using a compressing machine to complete the fabrication process. After the demonstration performed by the instructor, students had the opportunity to operate the compressing machine by themselves and learn fabrication skills. To allow the students experience the hard work of hand weaving, the students had the chance to make a bulrush coaster through hand weaving. After 3 hours of hard work, they finally completed their own unique bulrush coasters, helping them to realize that senior craftsmen are truly amazing!

From the developmental history of traditional industries to the understanding of a young entrepreneur’s business philosophy, a series of workplace exploration and experience learning allows our students to not only get in touch with the bulrush weaving industry, but also understand the process of turning bulrush grass into woven items. Moreover, the students also learned that the preservation of traditional craftsmanship requires the efforts of young people so that skills and culture may be passed d to the next generation.