October_2016_Web

exchanged between us all. Down one side of the shack was a huge pile of
discarded coconut shells. At the side of that was a pile of what I recognised
to be the fibre from inside the shells. Suddenly the penny dropped; the
women were gathering up the fibre into a make-do pouch around their
waists, then twisting and spinning the fibre to make the strands which
would be joined together to make rope or mats. Not a word was spoken
between the eight of us since we did not speak or even understand each
other’s language. The women demonstrated what they were doing. The
coir fibre felt rough in my hands as I touched it, let alone spend many hours
a day pulling and twisting it. My facial expression must have said it all.
One of the women made bracelets for us. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming
feeling of humility; I, who by accident of place of birth, live such a
privileged life, was given this wonderful gift. The women did not ask us
for money but we all wanted to repay their act of kindness. Between us
we only had about £6 which we gave them. “For you,” we said. You
would have thought that we had handed them a thousand pounds! And
with that, we boarded the minibus and continued our journey.
Later that evening I discovered that it had been International Women’s
Day – very appropriate for our visit, I thought. My coir bracelet remains
my most precious souvenir and the memory of meeting those hardworking
ladies was certainly a highlight of my trip to Kerala.
Averill Lovatt
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