Roasted yucca leaves - the raw material. (Click on images for larger view.)
Yucca Sandal Workshop
by Sean Gantt
Saturday morning, Aug. 12, 2006, we had yet another amazing Friends of Tijeras Pueblo members-only event. This time we were treated to a very small scale and highly personal workshop session on yucca sandal construction, taught by a nationally recognized primitive skills practitioner/teacher Al Cornell. We learned how to process banana yucca by roasting it over a fire. Al created that fire in about a minute using a pre-historic style hand drill. We all made one sandal each, as the group was taught the process one step at a time. We all were then given additional yucca leaves to create a second and matching sandal at home. This was a wonderful event, and sandal making is a skill I will carry with me the rest of my life.
Yucca sandal
Cordage Workshop
by Sean Gantt
In the afternoon on Saturday Aug. 12, 2006, we had a very interesting lecture given by nationally recognized primitive skills practitioner/teacher Al Cornell on pre-historic cordage, rope making, fingerweaving, and natural fiber processing. Al made the trip all the way from Sedona, AZ to be with us for the day. This event was open to the public and was well attended. Everyone had the opportunity to get hands-on experience with each of the techniques Al taught. Mr. Cornell?s displays showed many different types of natural fibers, and many different types of finished products such as knotted nets, straps, belts, and various types of rope/cordage. This was a very fun and informative lecture.
Cordage "in progress". (Click on image for larger view.)