Village Craft
Water Carrier
The original purpose for this container was to collect palm sap from the very betel nut palm from which the major component was taken. (Sap is also collected from other palms).
The part used is the frond sleeve that wraps around the trunk,
which
you can see in the picture as the smooth portion of the trunk. Any palm with this
type of frond should be fine to use. Ideally
the flower sheath is used in preferance to the palm
frond. The sheath is thinner and has a waxy plastic feel to it. Old fronds that have detached from the tree
are soaked in water and weighted by a stone until pliable.
Two lengths of green bamboo about the diameter of an adults thumb are cut to length , one end is open and the other is cut just below the joint so that they have a solid wood base.
A groove is cut into the side of each piece. This size of will just
accommodate, with persuasion, four times the thickne
ss
of the frond sleeve.
The frond sleeve is folded in half length ways. Each open side is folded around a stick that has been whittled to fit the green bamboo tubes. In this frame "Kakek" (Grandad) is eyeing up a stick against the bamboo tube.
The green bamboo is the forced over the palm frond sides as can be seen
in the frame below, not unlike a zip-lock bag. Close attention to precision was given
to ensure that all these components fitted together well.
The final component is a ring of pliable material, in this case a thin bamboo strip which ensures the throat of the container remains open. This is secured in its place with some cordage. Cordage is also used for a handle.
I tested this bag for several hours and it proved to be water tight, certainly more than required to hold thick palm sap as was its original purpose.