The process of weaving the European fan palm.
This is Europe's only native palm tree, which grows on the Mediterranean coast. We have used it for millennia to weave baskets and vegetal cloth. The whole process —picking, drying, weaving— takes months. This is a job that has been done mostly by women, and which is still done nowadays, mostly in Southern Catalonia (the Terres de l'Ebre region) and the East of Mallorca island.
Like all artisans, this job suffers a lot of difficulties nowadays and many people struggle to make a living with it anymore, since now lots of stores prefer to sell cheaper and lower quality products made in exploited third-world countries or with industrial processes.
This video was posted by the Mallorcan artisans Art de la pauma on their Instagram page.
