broomaking

the first attraction i had with brooms was when i was 17 years old and came to israel for the first time. i walked the streets of old tel aviv and saw an old man with torn clothes, holding a broom. i took his photo, in black and white. i loved it. it just felt so timeless. then when i went to japan at the age of 49, i found myself again, photographing brooms. each time we went into a temple or garden it would be brooms or the people sweeping with brooms that caught my attention. the way the brooms were left, artistically leaning against a wall, their primitive quality, and the humble people sweeping with them. again the subject of many photos. then in thailand a few years ago, when i went to visit a potter at his studio, he had all his staff out early in the morning, sweeping. i asked him why? he said that they do not know how to meditate, so this is how he allows them that same type of inner experience...a half hour of sweeping the earth, the leaves, in their own rhythm in silence, before starting to make pots. when i flew to singapore on my way to bali, it again was the early street sweepers that caught my attention, or as i rested in the botanical garden, it was the simple men and women sweeping the grounds, the walkways and their brooms, that i was fascinated with. and then bali, where every morning and evening everyone is out sweeping! but here they are not so busy sweeping litter as they are purifying the earth so no demons or evil spirits will be lurking around the grounds...but yes also the leaves, the plastic, the pebbles...and a kind of meditation.

the first time i visited the family compound where i am now living, my eyes spotted brooms...beautiful hand made brooms in varying shades of yellow, green and brown from the palm leaf stems, all lined up against the wall, waiting for the young woman who sells them, to come pick them up. another photo...so peaceful and natural and humble. brooms. they laughed at me taking a photo of the brooms! what could i possibly be attracted by? 

once i moved in here at the beginning of october, i asked my friend to ask his mother if she would let me help her make the brooms. "yes". nice! but his mother doesn't speak english, and she was too shy to invite me to make them with her...."the tourist" working! no...so it took a while until i caught her in action and discovered when she actually makes the brooms. with a bit of sign language she motioned for me to sit on the little stool with my knife, handed me a handful of palm leaf stems, period. so i watched her. hmm...a beautiful flowing swift movement of the knife removing thin long shreds of the stem making it look young and supple. i can do that!

after observing how she held the knife and which fingers did what, i tried. and tried. and tried. instead of swift flowing movements with long thin shreds of fine stem in a pile in front of me, i was either moving the knife in vain without any shreds, or shredding the stem so that there was nothing much left to make a broom from. she didn't say a word, after an hour she motioned that we stop. "thank you" "thank you!"  the next couple of days did not bring much improvement still unsure what i was even trying to do, what was being shaved off, and why? but i just kept that vision of her flowing movement in my mind and knew that is what i wanted to get to one day.

a few days later i saw her sitting on a coconut on the ground, near the lovely cow, with her machete knife and the huge palm leaf, cutting off all the thin leaves into a pile. i asked if i could help. yes. and so i joined her with my knife. now we were slicing away the leaf from the stems. aha! so this was step one: first have a fresh palm leaf, then cut off the stems and afterwards is step two, which i had done already; "fine tuning" of going over each stem and removing any excess dry leaf so that a nice smooth elegant stem would be left which when placed together with a handful of other ones and tied tightly with a piece of plastic near one end, and given a little twist, was now a strong broom used to "sweep" the mattress after waking up (from all the demons and spirits!...and dirty feet) or for sweeping the earth or leaves from the earth. 

this part was pretty easy. i found myself flowing with the knife and stem, almost as well as she was. i felt satisfaction and enjoyment, and the previous frustration and force were forgotten. there was hope. i could just do this part of the broom making! we sat underneath the tall trees, near the cow and the pig, the chickens and chicks wandering by moving the leaves around looking for food. the quiet of the forest, the sounds of the animals. the nice warm weather and slight breeze. soon our pile of stems was ready for the next step, and all the shaven leaves were fed to the cow. she walked over to a banana tree, pulled off a bit of the trunk and used it like a piece of rope to tie up the bundle. again "thank you". "thank you!"

trying to find her at work was tricky, because each time she would do it when the mood suited her, among all her other tasks on the farm. but somehow as i would walk over to give the pig my vegetable shavings from the day, i would spot her and ask if i can join her. "yes". i had read a sat sang principle that said "do your best without any expectations". that seemed like a good intention to have while shaving the stems instead of all the criticism and comparing and disappointment that i, a talented, capable woman of experience, cannot shave off the stem in a swift flowing movement like her. 

with the intention, there was improvement. also, since i had now experienced step one, i understood what i was shaving off, so it made more sense. it was no longer just a random moving of the knife along the stem, but rather the place where the stem and leaf were connected was what was being shaved smooth. got it! even though i knew there was no importance to speed, or quantity, i still wanted to help her out so that she could earn more money, or finish the work faster. whatever. a goal. a purpose. 

i was beginning to feel a bit more confidence.  and enjoying the peace and flow. but still there were all those tips of the stems that by me kept snagging on the knife and then breaking off, and by her were long and thin. how? how does she do it? the next time i found her  i motioned that i will go get my knife and she motioned that i just use hers' and she will get another one. okay. ahhhhhhhh....heaven! it's all in the knife! what a nice knife! this has nothing to do with experience! it all has to do with the tool of the craftsman! i remembered how when studying japancse calligraphy my girlfriends brush was ruined and the master teacher gave her his brush to use. and when she began to use it the calligraphy flowed out, as the brush was filled with his energy and presence. that is how it felt with her knife in my hands. i laughed and she did too. my pile of long stems was growing bigger, and my peace of mind with my "no expectation" intention, and her knife in my hands was bringing true joy to the craft.

the following day i came with my knife and as i sat down to begin, she tilted her head and looked at me, then offered me her knife, taking mine for herself. i was so touched. so kind of her. as the flow began to flow and my mind was more peaceful i wondered if the woman who collected the brooms would notice the difference in quality now that i had joined in the production. if her customers would ask why the brooms are not as smooth, or as long as they used to be? or if these stems are being sold to craftsmen making baskets with them, if they will complain that the stems are not as they should be, and they are too short. i tried to let go of doubt and worry. she had not even glanced at my stems as we sat there for an hour each time. if it was important, she would have said so, no?

one day, after we had worked for an hour and there was still a large pile of stems to be shaved near her, she asked me if i don't need to be going to the beach now. i was surprised by her question. she usually didn't speak, and why was she worried about me and the beach. i told her that i will go later, and she said, "no, now, enough". since i am the guest, i obeyed orders, but wondered if i had just been fired? was this her way of telling me that my work was not up to par? i later asked her daughter in law if this was the balinese way to avoid shaming me but to get me to stop interfering with her craft? my friend just laughed and said that she is just worried that i work too much and that i should enjoy myself at the beach, and she is shy and doesn't know how to tell me that i have worked enough. i laughed and was relieved. still employed!

 i had also shared with my friends the story about using her knife and how different it was and how i am aiming at that beautiful flowing movement that she does with each stem. he thought a moment and then said that he thinks that it is possible with any knife. and that the flowing movement is one of lightness and ease. that the slight shaving of the place where the leaf was attached to the stem is not something that is so hard that it demands a strong knife. it just needs the right angle of the knife and an intention of gentleness. hmm...interesting. i decided to try it out the following day and to my surprise, he was right. what i had been using a contracted muscle of force on was now a light attentive dancing movement of my hand, and the results improved even more!

yesterday, as i spotted a large pile of freshly cut huge palm leaves by the cow i asked my friend to tell his mother that when she goes to work on them that i want to help. fine. we sat down later together, she and i, in the silence of the forest, enjoying the flow of work, and being in nature and touching the leaves and stems. having a purpose, making something beautiful from natural material. ah, how romantic! my friend soon joined us too, and instead of the usual silence, i now had someone to speak to in english, and i began to ask all the questions i have had about the broomaking. 

how long has your mother been doing this? "5 years".
how did she decide to make the brooms? "someone came to her and asked if she would prepare the materials for brooms and basketry with the stems and that they would come once a month and pay her for it".
how much do they pay her for a broom? "10 cents".
10 cents!!!!???????????!!!!!!!!! hours of work, and she makes 10 cents? "yes...she doesn't really do it for the money. this is a pleasant way to spend the time, the palm leaves are needed to feed the cow and the stems were just left, so now she can make use of the stems, and the cow is happy too! she doesn't have to bite off the leaf from the stems, someone took them off for her already! wouldn't you agree that this is a pleasant way for people to pass the time? you sit, don't work hard, enjoy the company and nature, and help people have brooms and stems to make baskets with. it is good to have a way to pass the time in life. no?"

and i was worried about the quality of the stems from the ones i had made.... but it is definitely good practice of the 9 principles of positive thought, mental peacefulness, humility, high self esteem, everything as whole and in a state of change, forgiveness of myself and the universe, humor and lightness, the witness, and doing the best i can without expectations....bring on the broom stems!