Amid the Syrian crisis, a long-forgotten trade retrieved

AHMAD AL-KAMIAN-MUHAMAD AL-AHMAD/ GIRÊ SIPÎ

Selling mudrooms’ requirements is one of the rare careers in Girê Sipî, which does not need a big capital in comparison to others; this is also one of the ancient careers as it reflects the culture of the countryside in the past decades.

These requirements returned with good demand by the people due to poor income sources and high prices of the cement rooms.

Residents in the countryside, having abandoned traveling and mobile tents, are living now in houses built of mud after developing.

Due to the high costs of cement construction during the war Syria witnessed and lack of income sources, residents of the countryside have resorted to building the mudrooms which does not considerably cost in comparison with other cement rooms which single room costs one million Syrian pounds. 

The mudrooms’ construction requires mud molds, arundo, wooden pillars and hay, in addition to doors and windows, making up a whole cost of 300 thousand S.P for each.

Selling mudrooms’ requirements by salesperson is rare in the region except for popular markets in the countryside.

Muhamad Abdul Khalaf who has been working in this field for 20 years said “These requirements are demanded by people during the past years because of its cheapness where the costs of each room is 100 thousand S.P, in comparison with cement which costs 400 thousand.”

Abdul Khalaf noted that this profession has developed, where wooden doors and windows have been replaced by others made of metal, in addition to stretching straw mats at the ceiling to give an aesthetic scene to the room.

Demand on arundo plant increases at this time of the year due to its use in livestock’s stables during the hot summer days, and to decorate the shops, which attempt to draw buyers.

Muhamad noted that the price of each arundo mat is very reasonable ranging from 1200-2000 according to the kind, quality, and length of the arundo mat.

J.O

ANHA