Fiber

A host weaves a winnower basket from Borassus palm leaves

Hello, and warm greetings to all!

This post was a bit delayed by travel to Kampala, where I have come to meet my PhD advisor Dr. John Munsell when he arrives to the Entebbe airport later this afternoon. En route, I spent the weekend in Gulu, a really lovely central-northern Ugandan city, to visit friends. In Gulu I had the chance to meet Quinn Neely, one of the founders of Kijani Forestry. Kijani Forestry promotes the short-rotation coppicing of fast-growing tree species raised in community-managed nurseries and planted across northern Uganda. Advanced kiln technology is used to transform harvested firewood into sustainably-produced charcoal. Kijani's office is located in Elephante Commons, a business incubator and community center with a lovely cafe, demonstration tree nursery, and library. All around, very inspiring.

The Kijani Forestry tree nursery at Elephante Commons

Today I want to write about some of the different fiber plants we encounter during firewood walks in the bush, which are used to produce essential household items such as rope, baskets, brooms, and woven housing for poultry.

Rope

Rope is used by refugees and hosts alike to tie large bundles of grass thatch onto roofing poles during home construction, and is sourced from the inner bark and stems of several tree species. One popular rope species is Grewia mollis (called teriye by refugees, onju by hosts). G. mollis inner bark is stripped apart and tied together to form strong, durable rope. G. mollis is also an edible species, producing small red edible berries and leaves which can be cooked into a sauce.

Grewia mollis inner fiber (left) and edible leaves (right)

Another popular rope tree is Piliostigma thonningii (known as pepe among refugees, maza among hosts). The young stems of P. thonningii are cut, stripped of leaves, and used for tying. Participants also use rope from both P. thonningii and G. mollis to tie firewood bundles in the bush. If these tree species are unavailable, speargrass (Imperata cylindrica) is plucked and braided together into long ropes to tie up firewood bundles, as well as to make a cushion for protecting the head from the weight of firewood bundles.

A firewood bundle is tied with the inner bark of G. mollis

A refugee braids together Imperata cylindrica (left) to tie a firewood bundle (right)

One refugee participant described how his grandparents in Sudan used the leaves of P. thonningii as paper, and demonstrated how twigs were used to etch script on to the face of the leaves. Another time, a refugee participant used P. thonningii leaves to wrap medicinal herbs harvested in the bush, tying the package with the tree stems.

P. thonningii leaves and stems were traditionally used as paper and pen

Although sisal (Agave sisalana) is a planted fiber species, it is often found and harvested in the bush for making rope to tether animals. Sisal rope is valuable, with each rope worth about 1000 Ugandan shillings at market. To make rope, sisal eaves are stripped apart using a knife to expose the individual hairy fibers, which are then tightly spun together.

A host processes sisal leaves for making rope to tether goats

Basket making

Baskets are important among refugee and host households for winnowing chaff from harvested crops such as sorghum, sesame, and maize. Winnower baskets are typically crafted from the leaves of Borassus aethiopum (Borassus palm, pictured at the top of this post), which are stripped apart and tightly woven together with the use of a sharp tool. Alternatively, sorghum stalks can be collected from farm fields, split apart, and used to weave winnower baskets.

A basket is woven from sorghum stalks

We also have encountered baskets woven from a plant known among hosts as kau (scientific name pending) which are used for specifically for fishing. As I have described in previous posts, the bark of tree species such as Tephrosia vogellii and Sclerocarya birrea are used to poison blocked-off sections of rivers, causing fish to die and float to the surface. Baskets woven from kau are then used to collect the dead fish.

A fishing basket (left) woven from the stems of kau (right)

Brooms

In several instances, participants will finish collecting firewood and then use their machete to chop a large clump of a yellow-flowered, low-growing shrub known as ruru in Kakwa and awerekua in Lugbara (scientific name pending). This plant is a broom species: stems are dried and then bundled together tightly for sweeping at home or sale in the market. Other times, clumps of a grass (known as dani in Kakwa, ngudrika in Lugbara), or Panicum maximum, are collected for broom making. I have heard from refugees that traditionally this grass was considered bad luck and in South Sudan they tried to avoid bringing it inside the home. Given resource scarcity here in Uganda, they have abandoned superstition around the grass and are using it for sweeping and thatching.

Ruru/awerekua brooms for sale at the Point J market

A refugee holds dani grass, previously considered bad luck, but now used for sweeping

Chicken housing

A final fiber product I will mention is uliro (Lugbara), a shrub which produces malleable stems that are harvested and used to weave housing for both chickens and doves. Usually wooden stands are constructed to lift the housing off the ground so that poultry are protected from predators such as snakes.

Uliro (top) harvested in preparation to weave chicken housing (bottom)

This list of fiber plants and uses is not comprehensive and there are several other vining species in particular which are important sources of rope. I am glad we chose to incorporate fiber products as one of three categories of non-timber forest product to examine, given their importance for livelihoods and household functionality across both refugees and hosts. I will sign off for now, and look forward to writing again soon! Stay well in the meantime.