A scream of terror rings out in the deep woods. A hiker races about in circles, leaping into the air and shaking her limbs wildly. “Something’s crawling up my pant leg!” she shrieks to her companions. Modesty cast aside, she rips off her pants to discover inside, not the scorpion, centipede or spider she expected, but a humble, utterly harmless, pine needle.
This is more or less the way many a visitor to pine forests has discovered the remarkable way pine needles can ascend pant legs thanks to their pointy tips and the built-in spring action of their shape, allowing them to move up but never down, perfectly simulating the movement of whatever creeping creature you would least like to feel scurrying up your leg and heading for your private parts.
If, in the past, you had asked me, “What is a pine needle good for?” I’m afraid I could not have come up with anything better than, “Well, they’re good for playing a practical joke on somebody you’d like to see pantless.”
That was before I walked into the humble home of Marina Buñuelos in the Little village of Emiliano Zapata, which lies 20 kilometers west of Guadalajara.Primavera Forest administrator Karina Aguilar had mentioned Marina’s name to me on several occasions. “You should see what she does with pine needles,” she had told me, but I must confess I had nothing more exciting than key chains in mind as I stood before Marina’s kitchen table, waiting for this humble, unassuming mother to show me her crafts.
Well, my eyes and those of my companions literally bulged as that little table was filled with exquisitely beautiful baskets, jars, vases, hot pads, purses, napkin holders, bowls and even a fully functioning table lamp. At the end there was hardly any room left for a rack filled with very nice earrings, pins, necklaces and, of course, the inevitable key chains.
“How did you learn to make all of these things?” I asked.
Marina replied that some 14 years ago, the Primavera Forest people had arranged for a course in working with ocochal, pine needles to us. “I liked it,” said Marina, “and I liked the fact that we were recycling a natural product from the forest.”
Of the 27 people who took that course, only Marina has continued to produce handicrafts of ocochal. “This kind of work is ideal for a mother. You can do just about everything inside your home. But then you have to take your pieces somewhere to sell them and that’s what discouraged the other people who took that course.”
Marina, however, is a determined person and every two weeks carries her works to the Ecotianguis or Eco-artisans’ market at the Ex-Convento del Carmen in downtown Guadalajara.
“How do you work the pine needles into such different shapes?” asked my wife Susy. Marina explained that she starts off by boiling the needles for three minutes and then placing them inside a plastic bag to keep them moist and flexible. “This way, they are workable, but when they’re dry, they break easily and can jab you.” She also explained that the two different hues or colors we found in her products are produced by drying some pine needles in the sunlight and others in the shade. I asked how long it took her to make a large jarón (something like a vase). “It took 20 days,” she told me. “I am selling it for 800 pesos, but in terms of the work required to make it, the price should be much higher.”
In addition to pine needles, Marina incorporates pine cones and various seeds into her designs. In one bracelet, for example, I found bizarrely shaped cat’s-claw pods, jojoba and peach seeds, frijoles (beans) and mini coconuts (coquitos) from the Queen Palm Tree.
After years of mastering her unusual craft, Marina is often called upon to teach others. “I’ve given workshops in Tequila and Tala,” she told me, “and not long ago they asked me to teach a course in San Luis Potosí.” Enthusiastically, Marina added, “Some of us would like to start a program to bring school kids to the Bosque, to see what wonderful things can be found in the woods, good things that the forest brings to us. We could show them that pine needles and seeds and pods aren’t garbage, but useful items which can be recycled.”
You can find Marina Buñuelos every other Sunday at Guadalajara’s Ecotianguis market at the Ex-Convento del Carmen at Avenida Juarez 638, 1 ½ blocks east of Federalisimo. Look for a stand announcing: Mujeres Artesanas de Emiliano Zapata. Her cell phone is 331-233-9879. If you’d like to visit her home, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are best. To find it, follow the directions below.
How to get there
To reach the ejido of Emiliano Zapata from Guadalajara, take Avenida Vallarta west out of town for about 18 kilometers. Don’t get on the toll road to Puerto Vallarta, but look for signs for Ameca and Tala. Now head southwest on highway 70 for a mere 746 meters. Here you’ll pass under a yellow pedestrian bridge. Immediately turn left into the Ejido. The main street now forks. Take the right fork downhill for 118 meters and stop. Buñuelos’ house (N20 43.123 W103 37.632) will be on your left. Driving time from Guadalajara is less than 30 minutes.
From Lake Chapala, go to Tala and drive north on Highway 70 for 12 kilometers. Turn right into Emiliano Zapata just before the yellow pedestrian bridge.