Digitization and Value-Add Application of Bamboo Weaving Artifacts

Chinese people used bamboo to make bamboo weaving utensils for hunting, farming, fishing, and even transportation before. However, bamboo weaving utensils are no longer needed in daily life nowadays. The craft of bamboo weaving utensils is gradually losing people’s attention that few craftsmen can still work on it. In this study, a folklore hobbyist, a craftsman, a horticulturist, and an interior decorator were invited to digitize bamboo weaving artifacts and crafts, as well as to develop value-add applications of the artifacts. Among the 1200 collected bamboo weaving artifacts, 150 artifacts accompanied with 20 weaving patterns have been digitized and stored with image and video formats, respectively. The value-add refers to the adoption of the bamboo weaving artifacts as flower vases for orchid planting and flower arranging with artworks designed by the horticulturist, which were then adopted by the interior decorator to decorate restaurants to elevate the environmental quality. The digitized contents were also used as part of the e-learning materials in a community college. The questionnaire surveys show that the digitized material is useful for learning bamboo weaving craft and flower arrangement skills for students. It was found that combination of bamboo weaving artifact and flower arrangement highly promote quality of service of restaurants.