Another thing that Liz and I wanted to do on our trip to the jungle was make some handicrafts. Our guide, Daniel, set us up with demonstrations in weaving and pottery from local artisans.
To do this, we spent one day in an artists' retreat deeper into the jungle, living in what was affectionately called "the hobbit house".
The weaving demonstration was done by a young local girl who had learned this technique since she was a child.
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| This was hands-on as we both got a chance to try this out |
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| What we are attempting to make is a belt, similar to the green and white one Liz is using to stabilize the thread |
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| I found it interesting, but Liz enjoyed it more than I did. We both, however, found it difficult to "see" the patterns we were making in order to select the right threads. |
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| Whereas our instructor can make one of these belts in about a day, after more than an hour this is all Liz & I had completed. |
Later we visited some potters in the local town of Chazuta where we learned about the historical uses of the pottery as well as observing them in action.
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| These burial pots were all found locally when they were working on the streets of the village, showing that the tradition of pottery goes back many years. |
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| Close up of a burial pot-the deceased was cremated and their ashes were put in these pots. |
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| Artisans at work |
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| Traditionally the pots were fired directly in the fire, but now more modern kilns are used. |
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| Some of the common symbols used in painting the pottery. They said there were over 1500 different symbols used in this culture. |
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