Eco-lifestyle has become popular among our society in an effort to reduce waste on our Planet. As being a tropical country, Vietnam has huge advantage to invent products to replace plastics in daily uses such as banana wrapping, sugarcane fiber packaging and luffa sponge gourd, etc. Especially in the Mekong Delta, we have a flexible grass which is the great material to make sustainable products and make more sustainable tours . It is called Cỏ Bàng (Bang grass) and Mekong people have cultivated it for years. In the movement by keeping our tour more sustainable for not only local people but also their living area, Innoviet will give more information about this wonderful Grass. Further more as an activities that contribute to KEEP MEKONG CLEAN projects, every Clients who book the tour will use grass straws through all of our activities in Mekong Delta and have more chance to lend your helping hand Find more deals here: Sustainable Tours 

                            

Bang grass lives in muddy water and can grow in 1-meter long, which is the standard size to pick them up. The whole process of harvesting this grass needs to be made by hand to ensure the quality of products. There are two types of Bang grass in Mekong Delta. One type is slim and turns into silver color when it dries in Kien Giang province. For a long time, people have used it to make the basic handy bags, conical hats, and mats and then upgrade the preparing and weaving technique to make beautiful home decor, fashionable bags and so on in order to export them to international market. Besides the aesthetic aspect, they also have a long life and we can use it to replace plastic and leather-made products in our daily life.  The other is bigger and thicker which is cultivated in Thap Muoi, Dong Thap province. Recently, this grass is used for making straws, which received a big welcomed in coffee shops and restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City due to the reasonable price. Most of the straws is single-use but if you can maximize into 2-3 times. All the thing you need is cleaning with water, drying it out and using with care because this grass is easy to break. Thanks to the benefits of Bang grass, it helps to prevent local people from cutting them to plant rice for economy purpose, which contributes to balance the local ecosystems because Bang grass field is believed to be home to the great number of birds, insects, and fishes.  Saving the environment seems to be a big dream but you can do it by simply using eco-friendly products like buying a Bang bags to go shopping or using grass straws whenever you think of sipping a drink in the office or at home. Small actions gradually can become big one day if you keep on doing what you think it is right for our environment. There are 2 kinds of * co bang*, one is grown in Phu My- Kien Giang, with smaller size and used to make fashionable and eco-friendly bags ( like what you see in the pictures).

                                 

                            

Writer: Nhung Vu

Editor: Vi Lam