Traditional crafts with utility value have always maintained the lead over modern equivalents as people’s familiarity with them has run on for centuries. The practicality of traditional crafts also has bearing on the availability of raw material locally. Date palms which abound in almost all areas of the Balochistan not only have proved vital because of its luscious fruit but also because of the varied uses of almost all its parts including palm frond and trunk. In fact there is nothing from a date palm which does not serve some purpose. While palm fronds are extensively used for rural house construction, date palm leaves are used for weaving baskets to store dates.
In the first stage dry leaves are cut and collected. In the next stage, leaves are removed from the stem. In the third stage leaves are put in water to make them more flexible and strong. In the fourth stage, the actual weaving process begins and hundreds of metres of bands are woven and stored at sableh or public majlis. Before the onset of summer these bands will be woven and kept ready for the final stage of weaving.In the last stage of weaving, the rolls of bands are again put in water for a couple of hours before being woven into baskets. Each of the basket weavers makes a few hundreds of baskets during a season according to the requirements of their villagers.
The dwarf palm, which grows wild on the Sibi frontier, is used for making prayer mats, matting for stone shelters, sandals, shoes and now also ladies hand-bags.
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