Flax / Jute

[Guest guest]

Reagrding the posts about flax. I am adding the apocalypse conference to

this text. Some of them may also be interested in the flax information.

 

I guess flax and jute are two different things altogether?

 

Its just that from some of the descriptions posted, flax sounds very much

like jute, except that the description given for flax processing, is much

more complicated.

 

They grow jute all around Mayapur. It grows about 1 to 1.5 meters tall.

After harvesting, they soak the long stems for a few weeks in Ganga or other

pools of water, such as the village pukur (it is grown in the rainy season,

and copious pools of water are available everywhere in Bengal). From memory

it soaks for at least a week, maybe a bit longer. What they do is bundle a

whole bunch of jute sticks together into a sort of raft up to about 12 feet

square. They then weigh this down to keep it submerged, often using water

hyacinths, which conveniently float down Ganga, and spread about all over

the place. They come from nalla's or ditches where waste water often

gathers. When these areas get inundated during the rains, the hyacinths tend

to find their way into the rivers. Like triffids on an outing, they

endlessly stream down the Ganga for weeks on end.

 

When I first saw these little floating islands with strange plants on top, I

could not figure out what the hell it was. I thought the villagers had

developed an ingenious way to reclaim their flooded fields by making little

floating islands. I really felt like an idiot when I realised what was

actualy happening. If I may digress slightly, It reminds me of a story a

friend told me, regarding pineaples. He was traveling in a bus one day, when

his traveling companion pointed out some growing pineapples. My freind, upon

being asked if he saw them, was saying 'yes yes' while franticaly trying to

see one in the tree tops!. Everyone within earshot was laughing at him.

 

OK back to jute. After a good long soak the 'fibre' gets loosened. You see

most of the village men and boys, up to their wastes in water, stripping the

'skin' off of the jute of with small blades, and coiling it up by the

roadsides. What is left are thin whitish stalks, which generaly are used to

make light fences, or sometimes fuel sticks. A fuel stick is a jute stick

covered in cow dung, looking a bit like a giant kebab (sorry). These sticks

are dried in the sun. They are convenient as people can feed them gradualy

into their small kitchen fire pit or 'chula' as they burn away.

 

In Mayapur they often hang the jute fibre over the roof of the long building

to dry, it can appear quite funny, as if the Long building is sporting a new

blonde wig. Jute is golden in colour, and looks very much like greasy blonde

hair.

 

I am sure you have all come across jute dhoties, or saris. They often call

it 'art silk', at first glance its silky yellow appearance can be confused

with silk by the inexperienced. You can tell it is jute, as it wrinkles up

very easily, and within half an hour or so you look like a used paper bag.

(I hope I dont get a lawsuit from the jute marketing board).

 

Sacks or 'gunny bags' are often made of jute. Jute has many uses. For many

years it was used by plumbers in the west to seal pipe joints.

 

Seeing as Mayapur is semi tropical, I doubt if jute would grow in northern

climes, but I might be wrong.

 

YS Samba das