Pine needle basketry

Description

To talk about basketry made with pine needles is to refer to a product that is 100% environmentally friendly. In addition, these items are versatile, functional and aromatic. The offer is very diverse: Baskets or baskets of various sizes, shapes and colors, also bowls, mirrors, magazine racks, among others that are also combined with other materials, such as ceramics, wood, leather or wrought iron.

Originally from the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, the production of this craft was adopted in the Pacific region in the 90's and since then it has spread, particularly in Cinco Pinos (Chinandega), Jalapa and Mozonte or San José de Cusmapa (Madriz), and all mountainous areas in the north of the country, where abundant pine forests grow.

The production process is simple: The raw material, the pine needles, fall and the women collect them from the ground, then they are dried and stored with great care. Then they begin a long weaving process: The material is divided into different “buns” of more or less a finger thickness each. The first is woven with a needle and thread in a spiral from a center with few needles, twisting and continuing the spiral until reaching the standard thickness. When the first “bun” is finished, the other is inserted in a way that is impossible to see, determining where each one begins and where it ends.  Depending on the design, thread colors will be used and the spiral that is woven will look for a shape that can be round, square, oval, etc.

The preparation of these products requires skill and patience. A basket of regular shape and size can contain thousands of needles and takes at least a full week for the craftswoman to complete.

englishPine Needle Basketry

To speak of basketry made from pine needles is to refer to a product that is 100% environmentally friendly. Furthermore, these articles are versatile, functional and aromatic. The offer is very diverse: baskets of various sizes, shapes and colors, as well as bowls, mirrors, magazine racks, among others, which are also combined with other materials such as ceramics, wood, leather or wrought iron.

Originally from the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, the production of this craft was adopted in the Pacific region in the '90s and since then it has spread, particularly in Cinco Pinos "Chinandega", Jalapa and Mozonte or San José de Cusmapa (Madriz), and all mountainous areas in the north of the country, where abundant pine forests grow.

The production process is simple: The raw material falls and the women collect it from the ground, dry it and store it with great care. Then they start a long weaving process: The material is divided into different "moñitos" of about one finger thickness each, the first one is woven with needle and thread in a spiral from a center with few needles, twisting and continuing the spiral until the standard thickness is reached, when the first "moñito" is finished the other one is inserted in such a way that it is impossible to see where each one starts and where it ends. Depending on the design, thread colors will be used and the spiral that is being woven will look for a shape that can be round, square, oval, etc.

The elaboration of these products requires skill and patience. A basket of regular shape and size can contain thousands of needles and takes at least a full week to be produced by the artisan.