254 Palm utilisation for basketry in Xini Ward, Sengwe communal areas, Zimbabweaccounted for 20.5%, the average annual income of producer households
being US$102.80. Therefore in 2001 the basketry industry contributed
US$21.07 to producer household income, an increase of about 42% from the
1998 level.Access and control
The palm H. petersiana grows naturally and as such is a communally owned
resource. In Zimbabwe all the land in communal areas is owned by the state
while the traditional leadership and local government are just the custodians
of the resources growing thereof.
In Sengwe all the palm stands are customarily owned by the Shangaan people
by virtue of their being indigenous to the area. The ownership is strictly for sap
tapping for wine production, and leaves for crafts may be accessed by all (Sola
1998). Additionally, transfer rights of palm resources by individual producers
are based on a patrilineal system.
Each village under a kraal head has its own designated tapping fields and
leaf harvesting areas. The chiefs, working through headman, have overall
control of palm utilisation. To date they have managed to stop the
transportation and sale of unprocessed palm leaves. So far, the impact of
traditional rules has been generally positive as it has resulted in the palm
being conserved whilst everyone in the designated area has access to the
palm for leaf harvesting.Leaf processing for craft
Leaf processing and weaving is undertaken at the household level by one or
two family members. In basket making it is mostly the unopened leaves that
are used and they consists of several leaflets, which are opened during drying.
The unopened leaf is cut and split into double-leaflets numbering between 21
and 34 per leaf. Leaflets are stranded using a big needle, the midrib is removed
and the outer edges of the leaflet are discarded. Midribs are used as the
filling material in making fruit and shopping baskets, while in winnowing baskets
they are used as weft threads and the inner parts as the weaving material;
this makes the product 100% palm (Photo 2). Big artefacts (winnowing baskets,
harvest baskets and washing baskets) are made from leaves of about 100 cm
length, while smaller artefacts such as wall hangings, fruit baskets and sugar
basins are made from leaves of shorter length (Table 2) (Sola 1998).
Weavers were able to differentiate between the sexes of the palm. The
male plant was said to have whitish-green leaves that are very brittle and
therefore unsuited for craft production, whereas the female plant has dark
green leaves that are very pliable and most suited for craft making. Dye
production has also to be considered, as it is an activity that is part of the
basket making. The dye used to colour the baskets is taken from an indigenous
tree, Bechermia discolor (munyiyi). Craft makers collect the bark of the tree,
grind it and or mix it with charcoal to produce a dark brown colour, which is
preferred over brick red or reddish brown. They then add the bark-charcoal
mixture to the palm leaves in boiling water.14PALM.P65 254 22/12/2004, 11:05