Tradition · basketry
Doum palm weaving: baskets, mats and panniers
Doum is the Moroccan name for the dwarf fan palm, Chamaerops humilis, a low, tough palm that grows wild on hills and scrubland. Its dried leaves are split into strips and woven into baskets, mats, brooms, rope and panniers.
Published
From leaf to strip
The leaves are cut, dried and split into narrow strips, then plaited and coiled into shape. The work needs no machinery, and in rural areas it has long been a way to make household objects and to earn some extra income.
Baskets, mats and panniers
Doum makes sturdy shopping baskets, bread baskets, floor mats and the panniers slung over donkeys and mules on market days. In the souks, baskets are piled high beside the pottery and the spices.
A comeback
When Morocco banned plastic bags in 2016, woven baskets returned to the shopping routine. A study in the province of Taza found that the ban had a considerable effect on the market for doum baskets.
From basket to snail and donkey
Two designs come from the basket. Slow Travel turns a doum basket into a snail’s shell, giving slow travel a portable home. Cabin Baggage Has Hooves shows a pack donkey carrying doum panniers, a woven blanket and surf gear: everyday transport for a life organised around the next session.
Sources
More from Morocco
Place · Atlantic coastTaghazout: Morocco’s surf village
Where Taghazout is, its main surf points from Anchor Point to Killer Point, the best season for waves and how to fit into village life.
Read ↗
Place · Atlantic coastBanana Point and Aourir
Banana Point is a gentle right-hand point break at Aourir, north of Agadir, named after the banana plantations in the valley. What to know before you paddle out.
Read ↗
Place · Atlantic coastEssaouira: wind, ramparts and Gnawa music
Essaouira’s 18th-century medina, the trade winds that bring windsurfers and kitesurfers, and the Gnawa music celebrated at its June festival.
Read ↗