The beauty of straw.

Have you ever thought of how something as simple as straw could be used in the most fantastic ways? With straw, you can make delicate things such as paper, or strong structures such as walls.

The Amerindians of Guyana, South America, make straw from a special palm tree. The straw is used to create the most exquisite handwoven items. Here’s one of their attractive placemats to be used on the dining table. To be honest, I’d display it on my wall!

This being Amerindian Heritage Month in Guyana, let’s celebrate the hand made straw of the Indigenous People.

Once, my mother made a delicate ladies’ straw bag…and guess who purloined it…walking proudly with it around town!

My father!!

I kid you not. 

It was pretty, embroidered and all. I imagine the flowers looked something like this:

According to my mother, she who can stretch a tale to fit the occasion, my father was proud of her bag, creating a stir on busy Water Street, and whilst she described the scene to me, I imagined pedestrians craning their necks and staring! 

It’s a long, amusing tale, if you want to read more, hop over here:

My father’s straw-bag for ladies.

I will soon be looking at some of the ways we can use straw to earn a living.