Marshallese roof

This week must be my lucky week.  TWO cultural experiences this week.  

I have one child to do home visits for in Ajeltake which is between the airport and Laura, about 15 miles from the hospital way out in the country.  It takes about 45 minutes to get there by regular car (not a taxi). When we got there, we found a bunch of women sitting on the ground on mats with dried leaves around them.  I asked Chinilla what they were doing, and she said that they were making a roof for Marshallese huts (the kind you imagine houses on an island would look like with leaves covering the roof).

  

We watched them bind the large pandanus leaves with the leaf stem from a coconut tree.  They used some kind of tool (that they made themselves from metal... In ancient times, they used a whale tooth) to puncture a hole in the pandanus leaf to push the leaf from a coconut tree through so they will stay attached (they are technicially sewing two pandanus leaves together).  They are made piece by piece then put together on the roof.  It was very fascinating to watch!  Of course, I had to ask them if I could take pictures.  The women fixed their hair so they would look good haha.

You can see the coconut leaf stems next to her on her right

Woman working.... And a baby

Pile of finished product is on her left, unfinished product is in front of her. 

Close up of the tool that they used to make the holes... And the holes with coconut leaf stem through them.

It's really fascinating how the Marshallese people use every part of a plant to make things.