Once a Village of Craftsmen, Ywa Lut Struggles On

YWA LUT, Mon State — In a humble wooden house, Daw Ohn Myint polishes smoking pipes one after another with oil as she readies them to fill a rare order from a customer.

Daw Ohn Myint, 58, is excited, because she received a pipe order recently, after her cottage industry had a long dry spell, and she was forced to make ends meet by selling vegetables. 

Daw Ohn Myint of Ywa Lut Village applies varnish to finished smoking pipes. The village has been known for its pipe-making craftsmanship for 40 years. (Photo: Hein Zaw)

Her village of Ywa Lut has made smoking pipes and walking sticks for more then 40 years. The village, located on Belukyun Island, opposite Moulmein, is well-known as a home of wood craftsmen. Lately, a few of the villagers are busy once again.

"We just received a large order from Arakan State for 100,000 kyat (US $1,00) worth of pipes,” said Daw Ohn Myint. “Many people here have stopped making smoking pipes. It’s a dying industry."

Small manufacturers in Ywa Lut had it easier when they were once allowed to export directly from the village, but that changed in 1990.
 
"In the past, we could export to Thailand from here directly. The villagers were well-off. Since the government prohibited us from direct export abroad, our incomes have fallen.”

“We could be sent to jail if we export pipes directly from here," said U Aung Ngwe, who has made smoking pipes for 30 years.

 For much of time, U Aung Ngwe and his family now survive by catching fish and growing vegetables.

Most smoking pipes are sold now to foreign tourists.

Ohn Myint, sitting on the steps, visits with a neighbor. Only about three families in the village now manufacture the pipes. (Photo: Hein Zaw)

Daw Moe Khaing, who once made smoking pipes, but is now selling vegetables, said, "Few foreigners come here nowadays. We receive almost no new orders"

In the good old days, 1,000 households in the village earned money by making smoking pipes.
For the past 15 years, business has been falling and many people in the area have left to find work in Thailand and other locations.

"Most of our villagers have remained and struggled to make ends meet by making pipes,” said Moe Khaing. “Even we can earn more in some other places, but we don't want to abandon this profession."

Many families still hope their industry can survive and grow, but times are hard.

"I can't repair my house, since I have no savings,” said Ohn Myint, as she varnished finished pipes. “Many villagers have no money now."

In 2007, about 20 households manufactured pipes for a living. Now only three households produce the pipes. 
 
"We are not going to stop this profession easily,” said Ohn Myint. “But the brokers who come here for their orders said there are similar pipes now produced in foreign countries. We think it could be impossible, since people like our pipes very much.”

Since after the government's ban on direct export of their products, some middlemen are able to make money on exporting the while the craftsmen suffer.  

A village street in Ywa Lut, home to about 1,000 households. (Photo: Hein Zaw)

U Aung Ngwe said, "The skilled labor from this village went to Thailand. They can produce quality products cheaper and sell them from here.”

A migrant labor broker in Burma, said some Thai factory owners, opposite Three Pagoda Pass in Burma, hire skilled Burmese workers at 100,000 to 200,000 kyat (US $100- 200) a month to make the smoking pipes.

There are about 60 villages on Belukyun Island with a population of up to 100,000. To help support their families, it’s estimated that two-thirds of village youth work as migrant laborers in the Thai and Malaysia fishing industries.