4/20/13
One of my new years resolutions was to spend a few days out
in the field really learning about silk production. So at the beginning of March, I trekked out
to a town called Morarano, 7 km south of the main road about 10 km west of my
town. This is a very small town where
the actual weavers in my cooperative live.
I went there back in July with the Madagascar Cooperative Foundation to
film about the silk process and we were the first white people who had ever
been there. So I was definitely still a
spectacle upon my return.
I spent the afternoon talking to my main weaver, Radany, and
his family about the silk process. I
watched them weave the scarves and hand roll the cocoons into thread. Then, Radany told me I could help him dye the
purple and green thread to be used in the scarves my mom will sell in Ann Arbor
when she comes here in July. Cool! First, we started boiling water. Then, we add a certain green leaf (for the
green dye) and part of a banana tree that makes sap. Radany told me the sap from the tree helps
seal in the color. Then we added yellow
and blue chemical packets to make the deep green color. They do some natural dying but the really
vibrant colors come from packaged dyes they purchase in Tana. They wanted to take a lot of pictures of me
helping them, which was pretty adorable.
They also are not great with a camera so it took a lot of editing to get
them decent. Check them out on my
facebook page!
So we finished up the dying
and left the cocoons and thread to dry, and went outside to wash the scarves
that were already finished being woven so they would be clean and soft and
ready for sale. There was a serious
photo shoot with that as well, which the whole town seemed to be involved
in. It was definitely their
entertainment for the day. Then we had
dinner and called it a night. A rather
interesting and sleepless night though.
I was sharing their one bed with their eldest daughter (they have 6
kids) while everyone else slept on the floor.
The mattress was made out of grass and plastic, which sent my allergies
into an absolute frenzy. They also left
a battery powered light on all night that was right in my face and I was
freeeeezing. So all in all not the best
night, but a very productive learning experience.
The next day was a national
holiday in Madagascar—International Women’s Day. There was a big celebration in the town where
some of my silk cultivators live, so myself and a large number of the women and
girls from Morarano took off early in the morning to try and catch a large
truck on the main road 7 km away. We got
to the road but the truck was late, so I spent an hour telling probably 100
young girls about American culture and English, after not having slept the
night before. Really great experience
but my brain was so exhausted!
When the truck finally arrived,
we piled probably 100 young women and girls into the back of this Mercedes semi
to drive the 5 km to the event. Hilarity
ensued. We were all falling over each other
trying to stand up or sit down or something, and everyone was jovial and
singing very loudly. It was really
funny.
We finally arrived at the
event and I was again an incredible source of entertainment. Some high school girls immediately rushed
over to talk to me, and a large group assembled to see my responses. You can tell they were kind of the “cool”
girls who wanted me as a status symbol more than a friend. They also asked me to play soccer with them
later after all of the different girls groups presented their dances. I agreed, not knowing that meant playing in
front of the entire commune with jerseys and everything. Very official. So we watched the dances for a little while,
with everyone I knew telling me to join each group (as if I knew the
choreography, I am not magical!) and then the moment arrived for the soccer
game. Everytime I touched the ball the entire
audience laughed. My dad said it was
probably like watching grandma play soccer, just so out of the ordinary. At one point the ball hit a spike over the
goal and popped, so while we were waiting for someone to find a new one, I took
that opportunity to let them know I had to go home and get some sleep.
But now I am famous in the
rural commune of Miarinarivo II, everyone knows who I am.
Love,
-Sarah
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