Ms. Elsa Handcrafted Straw Bags and Hats

Some time last year I visited Grand Anse Craft Market on Grand Anse Beach just to see what I could find. Really, I was in search of those handcrafted coconut/calabash bags. You know those little round bags we used to see all over the place growing up and never really thought much of them? Apparently there are still a few people making them around the place and I wanted one! I’ve always wanted one, so I was on a mission.

I don’t frequent Grand Anse Craft Market, so I was excited to see what interesting things I could find, purchase and share on the blog besides the calabash bags. As always, I was also looking forward to chatting with some of the vendors/entrepreneurs in the market.

I did find the bags. Yay! But I also found Ms. Elsa!

Ms. Elsa is a vendor at the Craft Market selling locally made spices, clothing and her very own straw bags and hats. When I entered her store, I got a warm Grenadian welcome. I think she thought I was a tourist. Lol. She invited me to take a look around and mentioned that the bags and hats hanging on the wall were made by her. Of course I couldn’t just “take ah look” and leave. I had to engage Ms. Elsa. I had to find out more about her craft – how she started, when, where and all that good stuff to share with you guys.

While she was very open to sharing her story with me, it was a pull and tug to get her to take a picture since she’s “not one to be in the spotlight.” I managed to get one on my third visit and every time I step into the shop, Ms. Elsa and I will converse for at least a couple hours. It makes no sense going there if I don’t have ah good 2 hours to spare. I might as well stay home. Ms. Elsa has many interesting stories to tell and I like no better sport but to sit and listen to each one. Our conversations ranged from how she started her business to family and cell phone tutorials.

Ms. Elsa hails from a family of weavers. Her mother was skilled in the craft. As a young girl, Ms. Elsa would sit and watch as her mother fold and loop strips of dry wild pine to produce what we know as straw bags.

At the age of only nine years old, Ms. Elsa tried her hand at the weaving. It was her cousin who encouraged and pushed her to learn since “she whole family doing this thing.” With little to no interest initially and only the memory of watching her mother at work, she mimicked the patterns, folding and looping pine to eventually produce her own bags and hats. Later on, Ms. Elsa started selling her craft in 1974 and forty-five years later, it is still her main source of income. Her work was recognized by the Board of Tourism in 1992, who presented her with an award for her Outstanding Contribution to Grenada’s Tourism .

Ms. Elsa’s products are brightly coloured, carefully made and have won the hearts of many visitors when they pass by. Her products have found their way into nooks and crannies both on island and across the globe. Just recently I was sharing her work with my aunt (a straw hat and bag collector). Surprisingly, she mentioned that she has a hat from her which is probably around 10 years old. It still looks new!

Today Ms. Elsa is not able to put in the kind of work as she did years before due to arthritis in her hands. Weaving is now a sort of painful task and being the lone employee in her business, production has cut down a bit, but she won’t stop. She continues to do what she loves for as long as she can

Her main concern is that “the craft is being lost in Grenada.” While she has a granddaughter who is now learning to weave, she will like to see more people involved in craft making. I couldn’t agree more.

Craft is a part of our culture. Its part of our expression of creativity and adds to what makes us unique as Caribbean people. It’s what belongs to us so whenever there’s an opportunity to showcase our handiwork, we should take the opportunity and as best as we can, fight hard to see that it does not get lost. This blog is such a place and I’m more than happy to show you Ms. Elsa bags and hats!