Elsewhere oil palms were introduced by colonists, for example to Malaysia, the plant is a resource to feed the appetite of the world’s consumers. Since the British colonialism, and until today, forest reserves, including the indigenous ancestral lands were cleared to convert into palm oil plantation while miles of earthen bunds were built to keep the sea out, dooming the landscapes of mudflats and fishing grounds. The Hma’ Meri indigenous group, also known as the ‘people of the forest’ has been settling along the affected coast of South West Malaysia from Sungai Pelek up to Pulau Carey.

Prior to the 1900s, Hma’ Meri ancestors lived on river estuaries and on the mainlands where they were dependent on both the sea and land for food, shelter and transport. They migrated when hunting was scarce, or when their lands were heavily forested and uninhabitable.

Chita’ Anyaman was inspired by the traditional patterns created by Hma’ Meri, depicting other-than-human entities. For the project, I decoded the weaving techniques which were typically made by Hma’ Meri, as wearables.

When I first visited Hma’ Meri community in Pulau Carey in 2019, I was introduced to Maznah Unyan, the master plaiter from the indigenous group. I learned the local way of processing and weaving with mengkuang (Pandanus amaryllifolius) leaves. Little did I know until later, this plant was in scarcity because the forest and mangrove ecosystem were destroyed and cleared for the oil palm plantation. Chita’ Anyaman was inspired by the traditional patterns created by Hma’ Meri, depicting other-than-human entities.

For this project, I decoded the weaving techniques which were typically made by Hma’ Meri, as wearables. Some sketches depict my own creation of mangrove flora and fauna. These living beings were often told in folk tales by the Hma’ Meri. The lores can be read in Gerimis’s latest beautifully illustrated book “Mah Meri Animal Folklores”. Although Hma’ Meri’s world is far away for most people in the world, their stories invite us to understand and reflect on our relationship to our ecosystem within which we live in and that have been lost.

The weaving materials used for this project are dwarf palm leaves (Chamaerops humilis) which can be found at the Kunstgewerbemuseum as ornamental plants, native to southwest Europe. 

Dwarf Palm Leaves / Palma
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Palm work consists of weaving braided strips of dwarf palm leaves into long “ribbons” called empreita, and is one of the most deeply rooted elements in the material culture of the Algarve. It was used in the making of rural everyday artefacts, in packaging and transport of goods and food, in objects for domestic use, in agricultural work, in fishing and in some objects of personal use. The variety of artefacts is great but unfortunately has fallen into disuse, no longer being produced.

Intended also for demanding labor use such as working in salt pans and transporting heavy loads in agricultural work, palm labor was mainly produced by women. The term “empreita” was linked to this craft because, it was, in times paid according to the quantity produced per day—paid to the “empreitada” (Brando, Simão, 1997).¹

Loulé local weaving archetypes of dwarf palm leaves.

Casa da Empreita
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Traditionally, Loulé is a land of palm weavers—women who dedicate themselves to the technique of weaving the leaves from the dwarf palm tree, abundant in the region. In the past, the work was necessary to pack dried fruits for export and where they appeared, in the second half of the century, the first wholesalers for the resale of handcrafted items.² Nowadays this is no longer the case and this extraordinary craft is disappearing. To counter the situation, the Loulé Municipal Council set up a palm weaving shop (Casa da Empreita) in 2017. Made up of a collective of 12 craftswomen who work and sell what they produce, the shop is part of the workshops of the Loulé Criativo project, which aims to promote and support arts and crafts on the verge of extinction. Casa da Empreita recreates, in modern times, what, about a century ago, were the palm weaving shops, which existed throughout the Algarve, and where Loulé stood out for its importance.³

During the residency, together with the weavers of Casa da Empreita, we archived the palm weaving archetypes, which was an important move to document and preserve the local techniques. 

The interweaving knowledge between East and West
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In many (sub)tropical continents in the world, and tropical cultures I explored – Borneo, palm leaves of different lengths and widths define different techniques. If one may make a distinction with dwarf palm leaves due to its leaf length, the technique of dwarf palm leaves can be seen as limiting, but often overlooked and under scrutinized.

In the tropical context, palm leaves of local species are woven as one piece as a whole artifact, whereas with dwarf palm leaves, techniques have already been thought through with creating a continuous weave (empreita) to compensate the short leaf length.

However, this does not mean dwarf palm has less disadvantage than the other. Weaving with empreita means understanding the weaving engineering; the flow from A to B. This so-called limitation could be interesting because stitching and many other unheard of techniques could be incorporated.

For example, it could be interesting to look into non-traditional forms other than oval, rounded, and horizontally stitched forms. My proposal investigates and intervenes with the traditional forms and techniques with exploring new ways of folding, ending and joining the elements.

The proposal and results
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Adjacent to the problematic value of the material, a solution is proposed for a research and cooperative work between weavers and designers over time, as well as important initiatives and policy makers, whose role could facilitate research projects on sustainable strategies to rethink the material use.

Continuity in creation for the material would mean looking into big picture of things by reimagining new needs and potential ways to look into interdisciplinary and bioregional practices. From construction materials to fabrics, and from plant-based shoes to molded components, all of the experimental objects resulting from investigation and extensive collaboration.

A design collaboration with Loulé weavers.

What does it mean to curate a design project in the frame of Climate Change? What are our responsibilities as curators, researchers and designers? How can we participate in challenging old assumptions and build novel narratives that go beyond a purely  human-centred understanding of the world? CURATING CHANGE proposes to look at curation as an act of care and activism, a process through which we can shape meaningful worldviews that take into consideration all beings and an instrument with which to raise critical questions and mediate issues linked to the current environmental and social crises.

The starting point of the workshop will be a series of vegetal-related pieces from the Dresden State Art Collection and plants from the  botanical gardens of Pillnitz Park. Nourished by conversations with local specialists – Museum’s curators, gardeners, historians – we will study the stories of these artworks and plants, attempting to deconstruct and reframe them in light of contemporary reflections such as plants’ objectification and the idea of plants as intelligent and sentient beings, and as humans’ relationships with non-humans.

The Historical Park
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The Pillnitz Park stores one of the biggest varieties of non-native palm species in Germany. The palms were brought in by the Saxony Kings with their adornment for lavish antiques and exotics. Palm motifs can be found on objects from classicism and murals in the style of Chinoiserie. For the Saxony Kingdom, palm signifies wealth and riches during the age of imperialism.

These palm ornamented objects and plants were often overlooked and questionable by its acquisition, especially in the museum’s choice and stance on displaying them.

Nature and environment are a challenge for the historical sciences when we ask how nature was reflected in the past. Does every culture live in its own perception of nature? How might the museum help their visitors to question the displayed objects? Can we help visitors to understand more about the origin of the plants, beyond their exoticism?

Elsewhere oil palms were introduced by colonists, for example to Malaysia, the plant is a resource to feed the appetite of the world’s consumers. Since the British colonialism, and until today, forest reserves, including the indigenous ancestral lands were cleared to convert into palm oil plantation while miles of earthen bunds were built to keep the sea out, dooming the landscapes of mudflats and fishing grounds. The Hma’ Meri indigenous group, also known as the ‘people of the forest’ has been settling along the affected coast of South West Malaysia from Sungai Pelek up to Pulau Carey.

Images credit:
[1] Graphic by Natalia Milla
[2] Imagerie d'Épinal, No 1674. Grand Théâtre Nouveau. Jardin d`Hiver – Fond, Épinal (Frankreich), nach 1889, Puppentheatersammlung
[3] Map shewing the British Dependencies Malaysia Peninsula and Singapore (1888), British Library
[4] Palm oil plantation, Wikimedia Commons
[5-6] “Mah Meri girls get ready for dancing for tourists”, Carey Island, Bemboun Village, Carey Island, Malaysia, 1990, Jean Gaumy
[7, 10-12, 13] by Evey Kwong
[8-9] by Leonie Hochstrasser

Many thanks to weavers:
Valentina Silva, Almerinda Miguel, Sónia Mendez, Margarida Cortez, Maria Olimpia, Alzira Neves, Cremilde Lourenço, Eugénia Calico.

Special thanks to Teresa Mascarenhas from Loulé Criativo, Vanessa Flórido from Projecto Tasa, Kathi Sterzig and Álbio Nascimento from Origem Comum.