HARVESTING THE RAW MATERIAL. Wounaan use the new shoots of the Astrocaryum standleyanum palm tree locally known as chunga or werregue. This tree grows to 50 feet with sharp 8-inch thorns along the trunk. New shoots are sustainably harvested every 3 months according to the lunar cycle. It takes about 3-4 hours of walking through dense jungle before finding the perfect tree to harvest. The new shoots are cut with a curved knife attached to a long pole. If armed groups (guerilla, paramilitary, army, or drug trafficers) are in the region fighting for control of the waterways, then they must wait for the next lunar cycle to harvest palm.
PREPARING THE RAW MATERIAL
After leaves are washed and dried in the sun, they are split and twisted into fine threads. The natural beige fibers can then be dyed with plant-based dyes from the rainforest or food grade dyes. The puchama plant is very important for dying. It is used to create at least 5 different colors when used in combination with other ingredients.
IT STARTS WITH THE SOUL After days of preparing the fiber, the women can now begin constructing their basket. They start by making the alma or soul - an inner coil filled with grassy fibers tightly wrapped with chunga palm. Fine palm threads are then twisted and threaded onto a needle to sew the alma together, sometimes as tight as two stitches per millimeter. Wounaan basket designs are the inspiration of it's maker and usually depict elements of nature or daily life. In general, one turn of a plate or vase is approximately one day’s work.
THE TAVWE AESTHETIC A community of women in Chocó have taken these basketry skills to another level. They can create finer and finer threads for the micro stitching seen in the TAVWE collection of woven earrings. After days of preparing the fiber, it take about 2-3 days of stitching to create one pair of earrings.