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Turn chopsticks, and cardboard… into a miniature house on stilts, sell one, and earn hundreds of dollars

Taking advantage of cardboard, chopsticks, ice cream sticks… Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong (39 years old, living in Luong Phi commune, Tri Ton district, An Giang) built a house on stilts in the Southern style, each model he sells. earn hundreds of dollars.

As a canteen operator in Tri Ton District Medical Center (An Giang), during a break due to social distancing last year, Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong (39 years old, living in Luong Phi commune, district) Tri Ton, An Giang) spent time practicing, making miniature houses on stilts from cardboard, ice cream sticks, chopsticks… 

Turn chopsticks, and cardboard… into a miniature house on stilts, sell one, and earn hundreds of dollars
Mr. Cuong recreated the stilt house in the South during the time of “the immense floating water” with chopsticks, ice cream sticks, paperboard… (Photo: Bao Ky).
This is a typical flood-proof house of people in the West (Photo: Bao Ky).

Mr. Cuong was born in a rural area, from a young age lived on stilts on all four sides of floating water. From a young age, the image of rustic houses on stilts with thatched roofs and varnished wood has been deeply imprinted in memory.

“By chance through social networks, I found out about the miniature model of a stilt house, so I started to do it, with readily available, easy-to-find materials, and put it back together into a house on stilts. After many failures, I too. has his first work,” shared Mr. Cuong. 

The 8X guy started a business as a miniature house on stilts during the time of social distancing in 2021 (Photo: Bao Ky).

According to Mr. Cuong, to compose these models of stilt houses, workers need to calculate and balance the proportions so that they are reasonable, how to color so that they are beautiful and realistic.

Another important factor is that the employee needs to have passion because this job requires meticulousness, carefulness and perseverance. Each design of the house on stilts Mr. Cuong always changes the layout and perspective so that each “out-of-the-box” work is unique. 

“The most difficult stage is to come up with an idea for the house, have an idea, then make the floor, columns, walls and roof, then the interior and exterior to make the house more lively”, Mr. Cuong pointed to the house on stilts. making say. 


To increase the durability of the house on stilts, after bonding the materials with glue, Mr. Cuong will paint an additional 3D color layer for the eye-catching stilt house and limit mold, termites… (Photo: Bao Ky).

Each miniature has a size of 30x50cm, thousands of times smaller than real stilt houses, but the processing time is quite long. Normally, after preparing materials, it takes Cuong 3 days to complete a work.

With meticulousness and ingenuity, the houses on stilts made by Mr. Cuong in the South are very authentic, from the thatch roof, to the house, the kitchen or the chicken coop, the pig house is all the same as the real thing, although the size is only in the middle. compact in hand.

Each stilt house is “blown soul” by Mr. Cuong in a different style, ensuring no overlap (Photo: Bao Ky).
From the main door, you can see the altar of ancestors (Photo: Bao Ky).
Even the tables and chairs, the items are also meticulous (Photo: Bao Ky).

Although he has just started his business less than a year, this side job has helped Cuong earn a good income. On average, he provides 5-6 models of stilt houses per month, selling prices from 800,000 to 1,000,000 VND(45$)/house. Customers mainly consume in the West and Ho Chi Minh City. 

The style of the Southern house was reproduced vividly and fully by Mr. Cuong, from the boat, the table and chairs to the jar, the water dispenser, the antenna… (Photo: Bao Ky).
Each stilt house takes about 3 days to make (Photo: Bao Ky).
In addition to paperboard, Mr. Cuong also uses dried areca leaves as the roof (Photo: Bao Ky).
The image of a unique toilet attached to the stilt house is clearly reproduced by Mr. Cuong (Photo: Bao Ky).

Today, with the speed of society’s development, the Southern style of stilt houses is no longer in vogue, instead, there are concrete and reinforced concrete houses with Western style.

However, for nostalgic enthusiasts, the Southern stilt house is still a familiar image, attached to childhood and the maturing process of many children in the West. 

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