The centre of the manila hammock craft is the city of Masaya, which is located 28 kilometres south-east of Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. Masaya is the smallest, but also the most densely inhabited city in Nicaragua. Its economy is based on agriculture and handcrafts. As of later times, handcrafts in general, but particularly manila hammocks, are held in high esteem around the world.
It is believed that hammocks originally came from Africa. They have been woven in Masaya since 1925. The first hammocks were made with cabuya, the fibres of one kind of aloe. Later they were woven with pita cords, also extracted from a plant similar to aloe but with longer and softer fibres.
Cotton is the raw material most commonly used now. It comes from abroad, either in natural, strong or pastel colours. With cotton, we hand-twist a cord we call manila, and that is what we use to weave the manila hammocks. Our providers bring cotton yarn from El Salvador, Italy and India. A very small part of the yarn is made in Nicaragua. We hand-twist the yarns to the thickness customers demand.
The weaving of manila, using hand looms, involves three people. The making of a hammock, which takes 12 hours, involves five people. The spreader bar used in hammocks is usually made of Central American cedar, but it can also be made of light American cordia and Honduras mahogany.
In Masaya, approximately 200 families live on the production of manila hammocks. Most craftspeople involved in hammock weaving are the young sons and daughters of craftspeople; we have managed to combine our professional studies with our craft, and this allows us to improve, little by little, the quality of our handcrafts.
Hammocks are available at the Horizons thrift shop in Cobourg or by mail. Cost is $120.00 payable by cheque, cash, visa or mastercard. (There is no tax payable.) The colours available include purple/white, navy blue/white, hunter green/white.
To order, call and ask for the Thrift Shop at 1-888-729-9928 or e-mail info@horizons.ca.
