The dying craft of screw pine leaf mat making is hopefully looking forward to better days with these mats getting international attention.
A team of students from the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, Denmark, showed keen interest in the product and the craftsmanship behind it.
Exchange programme
The students, 21 of them, who are here as part of an exchange programme organised by the Kerala State Institute of Design (KSID), interacted on Tuesday with Sumangala, a woman at Thazhava near Karunagapally. She is a veteran in the art.
As part of the programme, the students were initially introduced to the screw pine plant by KSID administrative officer T. Radhakrishnan. It has sword-like leaves of the plant that is used to make mats. On Wednesday, the KSID organised workshop led by Ms. Sumangala where the Denmark students had hands-on experience in the art and some of them did succeed. During the workshop, the students were asked to provide ideas on making use of the art to create products for contemporary global markets.
Screw pine mat weaving used to be one of the oldest crafts practised by the women in Kerala.
The art is time-consuming, as it involves a lot of patience.
Process
The process begins with harvesting the leaves of the screw pine, which not so long ago were seen aplenty all over Kerala. The leaves have sharp thorns running along both edges, and the art begins with removing these thorns by stripping them off with a knife.
After drying the leaves, the weaving is done in a crisscross manner, similar to thatching of coconut palm fronds.
The mats have a reputation of being ideal for both warm and cold climates.
In the olden days, these mats provided ideal base for beds prepared for infants.
