COCONUT PALM FANS 

Maker: Boopathy Ammal

Material: Fallen coconut palm branch

Location: Tamil Nadu, India

Words by Deepa Ramakrishnan

Boopathy Ammal has been weaving these fans for over 50 years now. It's a slow process. It relies on nature to do its thing. Community gathers around it. Boopathy Ammal remembers all the women from the village gathering under the shade of a large banyan tree to do this together, sharing stories, songs and community gossip. 

 

Today, she is one of the last few Elders still practicing this and she promises to continue weaving until her last breath. 

 

These fans were not just used for everyday affairs, they also held a ritual item status in Madurai, the temple town of Tamil Nadu. Once a year, the locals gather for the annual temple festival based on the myth of a horse faced deity. People come from all over the state to witness this deity being immersed into a sacred pond. It takes place in the Tamil month of Chitthirai which is the peak summer period of the year. 

People buy dozens of these handmade fans from Boopathy Ammal’s community to offer them as gifts to attendees of this large gathering. It's believed to bring abundance and good karma. 

 

Boopathy Ammal fondly recollects what an exciting time this festival season preparations were for her as a child. Although the demand for these fans went up during this season, it could never be rushed. 

 

The dried coconut palm falls off the tree naturally. You could never cut fresh coconut palm and let it dry, this would make it unweavable. You just had to wait. The fallen palm is collected and immersed in water overnight. This would usually be at the local river or pond, held by the weight of a rock.

The next morning, men would collect it from the river and bring it to the women. This is then carefully stripped with a small machete and woven into its shape. Nothing additional is used in this process. It's entirely held together by the way it's woven. There are no strings or glue or nails. It's truly zero waste. We laughed about how so many of the modern day sustainability concepts are not so new or modern, our ancestors lived and breathed it. Zero waste. Slow living. Eco-friendly. They didn't have any highly intellectual terms for it, this just was the only way they knew. Relational and reverend. 

 

As Boopathy Ammal showed me how she weaved these fans, I sat there mesmerized by the way her fingers created these beautiful fans. 

It was 32C that day and I remember her handing over this fan for me to hold and use. I was shocked and surprised by how it created a cool breeze. Plastic or paper fans just don't have this effect. Nature knows and holds everything we need. 

 

I remember thinking how most tropical places in the world have coconut trees growing in abundance - our Ancestors were deep listeners. They knew the gifts of this beautiful tree and used it with reverence. Everything we need is right around us. 

 

We are so grateful for Boopathy Ammal’s patience, wisdom and her willingness to share this with us. We wish for you to hold one of these fans and to use it to support you cooking on our charcoal stove.