© 3PLearning Instant NAPLAN - Year 7 - Literacy - Reading - Ally Chumley 1

The basketRolls of wicker fall about, hands weaving in and out shaping such a pretty thing a basket for flowers, bread or string.

Working the cane on a sundrenched morn, hands gnarled, nails chipped and torn. Time today for just one more. Old brown back is bent and sore.

Given now as a token of love, forgotten are the hands that wove, forming the shape over work-worn knee on that island far across the sea.

By Colleen Minett

Basket weaving in the Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands (or Kuki Airani) is a South Pacific nation comprising fifteen small islands. The total population is 15,000, half of whom live in the capital, Raratonga. The people of the Cook Islands lead simple lives. The main industries are fishing, black pearl farming, plant cultivation, hunting and handicrafts, including basket weaving.

Basket weavers use materials gathered from coconut palms to complete their work. The large palm fronds are cut from the trees and used while they remain green and flexible. The centre strands are removed, and the whole frond is folded. Then the leaves of each side are plaited together. This type of basket is simple and easy to make. Most islanders can create one in a matter of minutes.

More difficult is the task of weaving baskets from a material the islanders call ta’a. This fibre comes from the unopened leaf shoots found at the tops of coconut palms. It requires special preparation including boiling, stripping and drying processes before it is usable for the weavers. A weaver typically spends several days turning the fibres into thin white strips ready for weaving.

The art of basket weaving and other forms of craft is under threat from the growing trend of migration among the young people of the Cook Islands. Because of the country’s geographical isolation, its poor infrastructure and exposure to frequent natural disasters, its potential for economic growth is small. Education and health services are limited, causing parents to send their children to schools in Australia and New Zealand. This has led to the breakdown of the learning cycle that once ensured that skills like basket weaving were passed down to future generations. Today, Cook Islanders are struggling to find new markets for their traditional craft products, which are being replaced by mass-produced, cheap plastic substitutes.