Limestone karst towers rising from still water at Ninh Binh, late afternoon light raking from the left and throwing long shadows across the water.

Coconut shell and woven fibre

Made in Vietnam, made to survive the trip.

Materials

  • A woven panel of dried water hyacinth filling the frame, low side light raking across the weave so each strand throws its own shadow.

    Woven fibre

    Water hyacinth and seagrass, cut on Vietnamese waterways and dried before they can be worked. How long they dry decides whether the weave holds.

  • Dozens of cut coconut shell halves packed together, husk fibre still on their rims, side light picking out the curve of each shell.

    Coconut shell

    Shell from the coconut processing yards around Ben Tre. Cut and sanded, it is hard as a hardwood and holds a fine finish.

Origin

Sarus sources coconut shell around Ben Tre, and woven fibre from workshops in the north, where hyacinth and seagrass are worked at volume.

Water hyacinth grows fast enough on Vietnamese waterways to block boat traffic. Clearing it is ordinary work, and the stems are what the clearing leaves behind.

How long those stems dry decides whether a basket keeps its shape in a heated house in Minnesota or slowly goes oval over a winter. That one step is most of the difference between a supplier worth using and a cheap one.

A dense unbroken mat of living water hyacinth covering the whole surface, thick glossy leaves and a few pale flowers.
Water hyacinth closing a channel
Flooded paddy in terraces, the water holding a pale light between the banks.
Paddy, planting season

Working with us

Sarus is sourcing in both materials and adds suppliers as the range grows. Quotes are reviewed as they come in: coconut shell, water hyacinth, seagrass.

What a quote has to contain is set out on its own page: packed carton dimensions and gross weight, moisture content measured before packing, and the retail preparation spec.