Cultivating handicraft

Near the village of Avatoru, Alice's garden is flourishing with pandanus, coconut palms and succulents, growing with a view over the Rangiroa lagoon.

Alice Snow grew up in Raraka in the Tuamotus. She met her husband when she first went to Tahiti,. Together they moved to Rangiroa in 2005 to find work. Alice is employed as a cleaner, but she also braids. Baskets, wreaths, decorations, hats... her hands are busy arranging and folding the leaves from the trees she takes from her garden.

This craftswoman first learned braiding from her mother in Raraka. She began by working the palm tree to make the fare roofs. The rest, she learnt by watching others weave, on YouTube videos, but above all by spending time with grannies. Alice doesn't hesitate to ask them to show her braiding techniques: she observes and then does ‘her own thing’, improving the work of the grannies. Her thirst for learning has led her to master various techniques and diversify her creations. She has recourse to daring shapes for the baskets, which are real jewels! Above all, Alice works at incredible speed: facing the lagoon of Rangiroa, her hands are working at breakneck speed to bring young coconut palm to life. A kaveu is lying on the beach, admiring how the roses take shape between the braider's fingers.

Today, Alice works as a cleaner. She criss-crosses the atoll on her blue tricycle before returning home, where she finds peace and leisure to braid. Sitting in the shade, in the middle of her plants, she makes chevrettes, roses, baskets, wreaths... in different colours depending on the ripeness of the raw material. Alice uses palm trees, coconut palms and pandanus that she has planted in her garden. So, thanks to her crafts and her plants, this Paumotu will always have something to braid and something to live on. She has passed on this lesson to her children, who have grown up in Rangiroa: it's important that they have something to fall back on, that they know how to draw on the island's resources to work and support themselves. The sale of handicrafts - baskets, wreaths, etc. - and garden produce - iced coconut - already enables the older children to earn pocket money and realize how rich their atoll is.

Alice doesn't sell in a shop, but her friends know that they can call her to order one of her creations. Depending on her free time and her taste, she responds to requests. No stalls, no market... you have to know Alice and her phone number to be able to place an order! This craftswoman cultivates her peace of mind by staying out of Rangiroa's overly conspicuous circuits. She works from home, at her own pace, and manages her orders very well, according to her time and her desires. With a strong character and a great deal of humility, our Paumotu makes it clear that she prefers to be left alone to braid, rather than being overwhelmed by customers, orders and a fervour that she doesn't appreciate. Braiding is not her main activity, but a kind of “extra” that supplements her income and which Alice also wants to keep as a passion. She does it when she feels like it, when she has the time. What a sweet pastime under Rangiroa’s sky!