The material
Esparto fibre
Besides being a useful plant for fighting erosion and desertification esparto is an excellent and inspiring material for braiding all sorts of objects. Esparto fibre is very tough, flexible and water-resistant. As long ago as the 5th century BC Phoenician and Greek merchants already knew how valuable this material was, it was therefore a popular trading material.
The use of plant fibres for plaiting and weaving domestic and agriculture utensils is typical of many self-sustaining, especially agrarian cultures. In my case I can easily climb the hills near my house, pick the grass and return home where I need only a chair, a pair of scissors and my hands to start working. It´s important that you don´t destroy the esparto plant by pulling out its roots. The leaves like a good pruning, so you can harvest from the same plant every twelve to sixteen months. In the right climatic and environmental circumstances plants can live for more than fifty years.
Picking, drying and braiding esparto
I learnt the technique of picking, drying and braiding esparto from tough old craftsmen and women, just as tough as the grass, in my village in Spain. Once I knew the technique I made lots of different objects, which I called containers because they might serve to store or transport something. Out of these objects I selected some designs and turned them into useful bags.
Nowadays I make these bags in small quantities and with different adaptations to personal taste and demands. I plait the dried grass into wide bands and stitch the bands together with a hemp thread, all by hand. Because of the methods of harvesting and production the bags are 100% handmade in Spain from 100% renewable Spanish grass. No chemicals are involved and the material is 100 % biodegradable.
