https://archive.is/VqeXK
"As a truckload of bamboo poles pulled into a narrow street, Daisy Pak stubbed
out a cigarette, pulled a safety harness over her paint-streaked leggings and
began blasting Prince from a Bluetooth speaker.
After maneuvering a loaded cart into an elevator, she opened a tiny window on
the ninth floor and ducked out onto a narrow pipe, a bunch of zip ties
sashaying behind her back like a bushy tail. She called for mid-length bamboo
poles that she tied into a latticework clinging to the outside of the building.
Ms. Pak, 31, is one of the few female bamboo scaffolding workers in Hong Kong,
using an ancient Chinese practice that is synonymous with the city even as its
use has faded elsewhere in China. She turned to the industry for a fresh start
in 2021, after a hardscrabble upbringing and falling into drug addiction and
debt. There was a demand for skilled construction workers, it paid relatively
well, and she had a passion for the time-honored craft. “It’s so special, to
build something completely all out of bamboo,” she said.
Traditionally, workers learn their craft by shadowing one master with knowledge
passed down through generations. But Ms Pak learned any way she could, working
with different bosses to broaden her skills and techniques, and overcoming
taunts about her ability as a novice and her 5-foot-1 stature. While
dismantling a scaffold, a colleague once tossed her poles to catch instead of
passing them downward. Contractors have tried to pay her less than she was
promised. Her arms and legs were constantly bruised, but she carried on.
“I was born with the will to prove people wrong, to do things that they say
cannot be done,” she said."
Via Susan ****, who wrote "Lots of great pictures!"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
