Pandanus mat weaving 101
03 November 2012 | Falehou, Niuatoputapu, Kingdom of Tonga
Hot and mosquitoey in the weaving hut
Many women on Niuatoputapu work at pandanus weaving, an incredibly labour-intensive process that starts with growing the palm-like plant and involves trimming the fronds, boiling them for a day, then soaking the softened pieces in salt water on the reef for over a week. This bleaches and further softens the fibre, after which it is dried in the sun, sliced into ¼” strips and finally painstakingly woven into huge mats. Often these are about 8 feet by 20 feet and are created by three or four women in a family working together for many weeks at a time.
During our time on the island we saw the drying pandanus hanging behind many of the houses, and people out on the reef in front of the village tending the soaking pandanus. Near the end of our stay, the cruisers were lucky to have a chance to visit the Falehou village ladies’ workshop of the to learn about this process and see them working on their fine mats. Many of the mats under construction were intended as gifts to government officials expected for the imminent official opening of the new post-tsunami village.