Our Trip South, part 2

Monday, after a hearty breakfast of parotas (fried flat bread), veggies and eggs, we were ready to visit more projects. We were first taken to see a large group of women knitting hemp bath mitts. We asked to see how they make the hemp twine, so they took us around the back to this clearing in front of several houses and some women came out and gave us a demonstration. After cleaning the fibers on a comb, one of them squatted down in front of this hand made machine and began spinning, while 2 others slowly fed the fibers onto it and walked backwards as the string got longer and longer. It was amazing - I wish you could have seen it. The above photo doesn't show the process very well, but I wanted you to get a feel for where these women work. There are 4 of them who work together to make the twine, in their front "yards". What better work atmosphere could you have!


I was fascinated by this shed between 2 of the houses. The vegetables hanging down are called "Lau" and are anywhere from 1 to 2 feet long. They eat the leaves as well as the gourds.


Before we walked back to the main part, they gave Jensen and Pruitt each a wad of hemp fiber. Jensen was intrigued and kept trying to create something out of his.


Here are some of the women, knitting together. Some were sitting outside as well. A few of them laid aside their work and had lots of questions for us. They simply loved the boys and thought I must have really good health to have had 3 boys! It didn't take them long to come to the conclusion that Pruitt was the peaceful one and the other 2 were the ornery ones. We had a lively conversation before being called away for some refreshments. As we were leaving, one of them gave some little tree ornaments and bracelets made from hemp to the boys.


Here are the nearly finished products, drying in the sun. These bath mitts are being made for The Body Shop, UK, which is their biggest buyer. Each woman can knit 2 mitts on an average day.

As we walked away, I thought to myself, "I so believe in this." Fair Trade is important and it does make a difference in the producers' lives. More to come...