The next day started with something very special for our Intrepid group, as Nova was our Intrepid guide. Nova's mother owns a small travel/money exchange shop in town, where she also employs local women to make products out of recycled plastic coffee sachets.
I know, it sounds tacky, but the results are really quite wonderful, with the most popular product being small purses or makeup bags.
We were all shown how to weave the recycled material, and I was quite surprised that I did not suck at it, my weaving was actually quite tight and clean. After about 1/2 an hour of weaving (very Zen, sort of like yoga... the vritti disappears) I also noticed I should have been consistent in the label directions, to give a uniform surface to the product. No matter, we continued on, learning how to sew the sections together into a makeup bag.
There was no time for us amateurs to finish one, but no matter, several of the women received finished bags. Nova's mom also served drinks and snacks.
At the end, we wanted to pay something, but Nova insisted... NO, this is just something special I provide for you.
Next, we travelled out of town to a small local village, where we observed hard working villagers splitting coconuts, making candy from coconut sap (very sweet but yummy), and making everyday items like brooms for use and sale. A couple of people in our group took a try at climbing a palm tree. Unfortunately, I could not, as my ankle/foot infection has returned.
** not to panic, everything is under control, and this subject will be covered in a future blog**
We then met up with a master carver/puppeteer, who showed us how he carved Indonesian puppets out of balsa wood. As well as being a master carver, he also knows how to manipulate the puppets, and put on a show with his booming voice. We got a chance to try to manipulate the puppets ourselves, and unlike the recycling weaving, we truly sucked at this!
I am already regretting not buying the two puppets below. They can be mounted on little stands on the wall where they can be easily removed and played with. The intricate work, and beautiful outfits are just amazing.
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