Local palm and grass work is becoming a lost art.

By Jody Rathgeb ~ Photos By Tom Rathgeb

The central “button” starts fanner grass baskets such as this one by Simeon Higgs of North Caicos.

Visitors who pick up a “Made in TCI” basket or hat before they leave the Islands often don’t realize that they’ve purchased much more than a souvenir. That item, made of palm fronds or fanner grass, is an artful weave of tradition, function, beauty and pride. Sadly, it is also the fragment of a dying art. It speaks of heritage, but not of the future.

To understand the loss of such a beautiful tradition, look into the past, when the function of these items was more important than their art. On the agrarian islands of North and Middle Caicos, baskets, hats, and mats were needed in everyday life for gathering and shelling peas, winnowing and cleaning hominy to grind into grits, and being protected from the hot sun. They were made, usually by women, from materials close at hand, the work done in the spaces between other chores. Yet the makers also indulged an urge to beautify and personalize them, and when they passed down the craft to their daughters, the art followed.

Henrietta Delancy admits that doing straw work can be physically hard, but her hands are still strong and she loves the work.

“Discovering” treasure

As the Turks & Caicos Islands opened up to tourism, these beautiful straw and grass items were “discovered” by those who ventured to the out islands. Recognizing that the works were both a symbol of heritage and a possible income boost for Islanders, a few friends, led by Canadian Sara Kaufman, established the Middle Caicos Co-op. The non-profit group sought to preserve the handcrafts, promote TCI heritage, and provide some income for local artisans. Acting as a collection and distribution system and beginning in 1999, volunteers would collect the baskets, hats, and other items, directly paying the artisans a fair market price (essentially a minimum wage for time spent collecting and preparing materials, then crafting the pieces), then transport them to retail outlets with a small markup to offset expenses. A retail outlet for the goods was also set up on Middle Caicos.

As time went on, there was an ebb and flow to the operation. A wholesale depot on Providenciales opened in 2003, representing a high point of visibility, marketing, and production. Sara Kaufman notes that at its peak, the Middle Caicos Co-op represented 85 artisans. Connections with the TCI National Museum on Grand Turk improved recognition of the works’ heritage, and the Middle Caicos shop moved to a more visible location at My Dees Plaza on North Caicos, where it remains today.

The Middle Caicos Co-op shop on North Caicos offers a variety of items, all made by local artisans.

Yet true commercial viability never happened, for many reasons. Prices, while fair to the artisans and with minimal markup, seemed high to some tourists who were merely seeking inexpensive souvenirs. More importantly, with time and changes in island lifestyles, the number of makers began to dwindle. “Nobody young is picking it up,” Sara notes.

Slow crafts, fast lives

Sharon Taylor, current manager of the Middle Caicos Co-op on North Caicos, confirms the founder’s assessment. While the shop offers a variety of baskets, handbags, hats, and straw novelties, the works represent far fewer artisans than Sara’s “peak” estimate. Sharon herself has taken up the craft in midlife, but she says younger people are not showing interest, despite the efforts of many of the artisans.

One of those making that effort is Henrietta Delancy of Bottle Creek, North Caicos. Henrietta loves doing the fanner grass work that her grandmother taught her and has tried to pass it on it to her youngest daughter. “She can do it, but says she’s too busy,” Henrietta sighs. “I hope to pass it on to my grandchild, but she’s still too young.”

She says that when she learned the work, her grandmother was making and selling pieces only to other Islanders to use for shelling peas and cleaning grits (“a big fanner for two shillings”). First, Henrietta accompanied the older woman as she harvested the fanner grass, learning where to find it. Then there was stripping the stalk and cleaning the grass. Only then was she set to learning to make the “button” that begins a basket.

Henrietta took to the work early and has continued, even when the bent-over posture it requires became hard on her neck. “I had a brace for a while and sometimes I’ll stop and use a heating pad,” she says. “I know it’s not good for me.” Her production has slowed. “I used to make six [baskets] a week, now I do one or two,” she says.

Yet she keeps up because she loves the work. “You are the master,” she notes. “It keeps me busy and it keeps my mind focused.” She also enjoys the artistic play. “I think I have my own style,” she says. Lately, she has been experimenting with using rope found on the beach, sometimes for just the button, sometimes for a whole basket. In addition to selling to the co-op, she has a small gift shop on her property, not far from Dard’s Grocery.

Sharon Taylor, manager of the Middle Caicos Co-op shop, took up basket work fairly recently. Taught by Irene Higgs, one of the shop’s artisans, Sharon says a tight, even weave takes lots of practice.

“One of my dreams”

Alveria (Vera) Duncombe of Kew also is a long-time practitioner of straw work who sells through both the Middle Caicos Co-op and her own shop, Vera’s Crafts, located at the North Caicos ferry dock welcome center. But while Henrietta’s focus is on fanner baskets, Vera tends to work more with the straw fronds from silver palm, plaited and stitched (by both hand and machine) into totes, handbags, hats, and clutches.  She purchases items from other vendors and works on her own pieces while minding the shop.

She learned the work from her own mother and would love to see the art passed on to a new generation. “It’s one of my dreams, yes, to see especially young people doing the straw work,” she says. “It’s a part of our culture that is dying.”

To preserve the craft of straw work, Alveria Duncombe has tried offering free classes in the community, but others lost interest.

Vera has tried on her own to teach classes in straw work, putting out word that she would hold classes in the community center for anyone interested, free of charge. She says she had a small group expressing interest, but after a couple of sessions people began dropping out. After one class in which participants were taught how to chop and prepare silver palm, they were told to contact her once their materials were ready. No one called. “I wish there were a way I could really get them into it,” she sighs. A similar attempt to draw interest at the Bottle Creek school during North Caicos Heritage Days also yielded disappointing results.

Nevertheless, as the art of straw work passes from a viable way to earn money into a demonstration of island heritage, those who are still plaiting, weaving, and sewing continue to pour their love and ability into the creation of beautiful pieces, for themselves as much as for others. Vera, like Henrietta, says she simply loves doing it. “It keeps my mind together, and I don’t have time to worry or think about other things,” she says.

The work is also a source of self-esteem and pride. “I like to think of myself as a strong Black Turks Island woman,” declares Henrietta, her hands busy on another basket. The results of her work reinforce that image, for herself and others.

Treasure hunt

Although supply dwindles as the number of Islanders who can make straw work diminishes, those who appreciate its artistry and heritage straw work can still find fine examples of it, primarily on North and Middle Caicos. The following list is not fully inclusive, but offers a few suggestions.

The Caicos Strawwork Shop in My Dees Plaza on North Caicos is the largest outlet. An outgrowth of the Middle Caicos Co-op, it is a nonprofit venture that represents artisans from both North and Middle Caicos. In addition to a wide variety of items and styles, the shop has exhibits that explain the processes of harvesting materials, plaiting, and weaving baskets, plus a “heritage” wall that displays older works from the beginnings of the co-op. Volunteer Laura Watson prepared the info walls.

Gift shops at the Turks & Caicos National Museum locations at Guinep House on Front Street in Grand Turk and the Village at Grace Bay, Providenciales, include works for sale.

Palmtop totes, like these at Vera’s Crafts, seem to be a favorite among tourists.

On Providenciales, also check out Anna’s Gallery in the Saltmills Plaza on Grace Bay; Maison Creole on the upper level of the international departure lounge of Howard Hamilton International Airport; and Mama’s at Ports of Call.

Gift shops at the North Caicos welcome center at the dock at Bellfield Landing offer local goods: Vera’s Crafts and North Caicos Gifts and Souvenirs. The latter has another location in the heart of Bottle Creek, which includes work by Elizabeth Gardiner.

Other gift shops on North Caicos include Lee’s Crafts along the highway in Bottle Creek, run by Henrietta Delancy, and Dorothy Garvey’s Dee’s Gift Shop at the Carlton Mills Promenade in Bottle Creek. Some straw work is included, too, at the Sisal Museum at the Promenade.

At various North and Middle Caicos events, you can also sometimes find Simeon Higgs, one of the few male makers, working on and selling baskets (when he’s not dancing!).