Basket boats & Water coconut palms

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Whilst there are still traditional basket boat weavers, many fishermen have updated their vessels. Modern versions of basket boats use fiberglass, canvas and composite.



It was so calming & relaxing as the boat meandered through the small canals of the estuary.



The Nipa palms are harvested for so many products including sugar syrup from its floral and fruit stalk; thatching materials, cigarette paper, and construction materials from its leaves; as well as food and dessert from its fruits, the stalks are also good as an aid for learning to swim as they are very buoyant.



Nipa palms grow in soft mud and slow moving tidal and river waters that bring in nutrients. The palm can be found as far inland as the tide can deposit the floating nuts. The plant will survive occasional short term drying of its environment.



The trunk or stem of the Nipa palm is under the mud. Only the leaves project upwards, the palm has a horizontal trunk that grows beneath the ground and only the leaves and flower stalk grow upwards above the surface, it is an unusual tree, and the leaves can extend up to 9 m (30 ft) in height.

The flowers are a globular inflorescence of female flowers at the tip with catkin-like red or yellow male flowers on the lower branches. The flower yields a woody nut, these arranged in a cluster compressed into a ball up to 25 cm (10 in) across on a single stalk. The ripe nuts separate from the ball and are floated away on the tide, occasionally germinating while still water-borne.



Our boatman ‘An’ needed some strength to cut part of the fruit to show us & even crafted a grasshopper from the leaves.
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