#745 A Day With Makers In India

India has a long tradition of skilled craftspeople making functional items with their own hands. We visited a village outside Kochi to learn more about their amazing skills.

Weavers make cotton fabric they sell to the government for schoolchildren's uniforms.

We boarded a shikara boat and headed into the backwaters.

There we met a toddy tapper. He climbs palm trees to collect the sap, makes a natural brew, and sells it to local toddy shops.

Fish farmers demonstrated catching their crop with handmade nets.

Local chefs made a traditional lunch, served to us on a banana leaf.

We saw palm fronds, in the hands of experts, woven into panels traditionally used in home construction.

Coconut husks, processed and expertly spun, make strong natural rope.

Locally harvested reeds are dried and woven into beautifully crafted smooth mats.

Our day with makers ended with milk-makers at a dairy farm where chopped local forage is the input and site-produced bio-gas fuels the operation.

Yours in appreciating those who make,

Kelly