The Story of the Pine Needle Baskets.
At the end of February, I went for my third visit of a Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary--Sierra Chincua in Michoacán. It was again a magical experience being in this gorgeous setting and seeing thousands of butterflies flying around us. And the good news is that the numbers of butterflies who overwinter in the Mexico mountains have increased in 2018 and the efforts of conservation appear to be working.
But there is another story that the thousands of tourists who visit the area each year don't see. Because of the prohibition on logging in the forests to protect the endangered butterflies, many of the indigenous people who live there have lost their livelihoods, and they are barely surviving. Tourism does not bring in as much money as lumbering, according to the group Monarch Watch, and “action must be taken soon if the Monarchs are to survive the 21st century, but it will require creativity, hard work, and compassion for both the butterflies and their human neighbors.”
I spent several hours with a few artisans who weave beautiful pine needle baskets in the community of Donaciano Ojeda, high up in the sierra not far from the butterfly sanctuaries.The sale of the baskets provides much needed income for families, and helps protect the butterflies.
In my fourteen years of buying Mexican artesania for resale, I have visited dozens of artisan homes in numerous rural villages--mostly in Michoacán, a very poor state, where the majority of artisans struggle to make a modest living. But I have to say that I have never seen such poverty as I did in this community. The surrounding scenery is stunningly beautiful, the air was fresh and clean and the sun was warm, yet the children we saw there appeared dirty, listless, and sad--and most likely hungry as well.
The women we spoke with are part of a cooperative called Grupo Florecito, which was formed about 18 years ago.The artisans go into the nearby forest and gather up pine needles (called ocoxal) and spend hours cleaning the needles and carefully weaving them into baskets. Most of the weavers are women, as many men travel to either Mexico City or the U.S. in search of better paying work.
Finding customers for their work is always challenging. Cooperative members have to travel by bus to crafts fairs several hours away a few times a year [photo] and there’s always the hope they’ll be lucky and find a buyer, such as myself, who will purchase a large quantity. The group has no website or social media presence, and contacting them by phone can prove to be challenging. But my last order was completed quickly and the quality of these sturdy baskets is remarkable.
Mexico By Hand's customers love these baskets. They’re great for serving tortillas or bread, are extremely sturdy and have the added bonus of smelling like the pine tree forest where they’re made. Plus the issue of survival-- of both the people who make the baskets and the magnificent Monarchs-- can’t help but move customers to want one in their home.
To purchase a pine needle basket, please go to our website: https://mexico-by-hand.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/handmade-pine-needle-basket-medium-1
*Many thanks to Ferron Salniker for her beautiful photos and assistance.
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