Category Archives: how-to

1-19 How to make a kava shell

Half a coconut shell, ready to be cleaned up.

 We’ve mentioned a few times that parts of the coconut plant are used for almost everything. Other than coconut milk curry, my favorite use is the shell as a drinking vessel. Here, it’s just kava that is drunk out of the shells. I intend to bring a number back and drink other things out of them as well. Of course, I will also have to keep a couple for the powdered kava I’ll be drinking when I get nostalgic.

Scraping the fuzz off the outside of the shell.
Still too rough to drink out of.

In order to get the shell ready to drink out of, first it must be husked as previously described. After that we break the shell open by whacking it with the dull side of our bush knife. Then we scratch the meat out (which means we get to have something with coconut milk, yum!) with a special tool (one of the only specialized tools in this country.) We scratch out most of the meat to milk and then continue scratching the last scraps onto the ground (they contain more shell than meat.)

Sandpaper that sucker down.
Next, we have to thoroughly clean the fuzz off the outside. This starts with either a bush knife or a piece of glass.
Having access to sandpaper, we then use that to get it really smooth and ready to drink out of.
All ready for drinking!
We don’t seem to get them filed/sanded down quite as much as they do but they should be quite serviceable.
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1-19 How to wear a loincloth

 A while back, pictures were posted of me in a loincloth. I’ve since continued to wear it around the village, especially around kava time. I’ve actually come to enjoy wearing it, especially in this ridiculously hot season. In case any of you want to try a loincloth yourself this summer, here is how they work.

First, acquire two pieces of cloth. One should be a thin strip to make a belt with. The other wide enough to fold in half and still be the width of your hip bones and long enough to hook under your “personal bits” with some length on either side.

Put on the long strip as a belt, tying it on the side.

Pull one end of the bigger cloth through the front of the belt with enough length for the flap in the front.

The other end of the big cloth goes between your legs. Pull it over the belt and back through underneath. Then loop it back around itself. No, you don’t need to tie it or anything, it will hold just fine as is.

That’s all. Enjoy a wonderfully cooling breeze!
Eventually, I will find a tsip(red mat) which is the kastom loincloth and try that one out. Don’t worry, there will be pictures.
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10-24 How to Skin a Coconut

I like coconut milk. I’m going to have a really expensive coconut milk habit when I move away from the tropics. Until then, I spend a lot of time with a bushknife and a coconut trying to get good strong milek kokonas!

Here’s the basics:

Step 0: “Up” is the part that was attached to the tree. It usually has a little hat or at the very least is less pointy than the “down” bit.

Step 1: Remove the bottom. A skilled (read ni-Van) individual can do this in four or five pieces, it takes me more like eight to ten. The idea is to hit the coconut below the midline and at about a 45 degree angle to the husk. The coconut itself is somewhere around the midline and you should be following the curve of the shell down towards the tip of the husk.

Step 2: Remove the excess. Again, a skilled (read ni-Van) doesn’t need this step. I do. They can take off the whole thing in a few nice clean strokes but I get it open then turn the coconut on its side and whack at the connecting bit until it comes off.

Step 3: Section the husk. (Please note, this is how I cut my hand in February and I have re-thought the tactics for this section. The improved tactics are what follows.) Place the coconut on the ground, sitting at an angle. The part you just cut off should be about the right angle. Hit the coconut as hard as you can just below the top. Pull your knife out. Rotate ten degrees and repeat. If you do this while holding the coconut at the right angle, be sure the knife doesn’t bounce.

Step 4: Pry off the husk. Slide the tip of the bushknife into the left-most slit you just made. The tip should go in as deep as the space between the two slits is wide. Use the bushknife like a crowbar and pry the section out. It should (eventually) tear away from the rest of the coconut. Stab the bushknife back in slightly more than an inch to the left of the torn section. Pry again. Repeat until all the way around.

Step 5: Tear off the husk. Grab and pull. If you didn’t pry hard enough, this step is really difficult. If you pried and sectioned correctly, the husk should tear away, leaving a hairy cocnut.

Step 6: Buzz the coconut. Use the bushknife to clean the hairy bits off the coconut. Think about peeling a potato or a carrot. It’s like that, except more fiberous.

Now, you have a coconut that is ready to milk. I watch my ni-Van friends do this whole process in under two minutes. I have it under four and I am proud of that. I’ve come a long way since a medevac to Australia!

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