Straw Votes : A loop around the Out Islands to see hand-woven hats, baskets and totes

Beneath the spreading limbs of a ficus tree, three women sit chatting as they braid strands of straw. The clear Bahamian sunlight filters through overhanging branches, dancing across their assembled crafts: hats trimmed with bright strips of fabric, lightweight but sturdy bags, tiny coin purses with flowers designed from rainbow-hued raffia, tightly woven baskets of all sizes and shapes.

This is a typical straw market in the Bahamas’ Out Islands--the term generally used for everything outside the tourist-crammed isles of New Providence, home to Nassau, and Grand Bahama, where Freeport is located.

Unlike Nassau’s much-touted straw market, where the sales pitch can be aggressive, straw shopping in the Out Islands is a laid-back affair. At least I’ve found it so as I explored these relatively untouristed isles, including the Abaco Islands, an assortment of tiny cays with fetching names (Green Turtle, Elbow, Man O’War), where little villages have New England-style clapboard cottages painted in bright island colors; long and narrow Eleuthera, its secluded coves ringed by farmland covered with pineapples, okra, peas, peppers and other crops; Harbour Island, a friendly and gorgeous island near Eleuthera that is famous for its pink tinged sand tinted by tiny pieces of coral; and laid-back Exuma, a boating haven and peaceful, largely undeveloped retreat.

I love all of the Out Islands, and I’ve successfully hunted straw on the Abacos, Harbour Island and Exuma, during several visits over the past two years.

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My first trip to the Bahamas took me to the Abacos, a boomerang-shaped cluster of islands at the country’s northern tip. In Marsh Harbour, the largest town in the group, a walk down the main avenue, Bay Street, brings me to a small cottage grandly marked Darville Straw Industry.

There’s straw everywhere in the large room, from the products that line the shelves to an assortment of unwoven strands to a half-finished hat in the sewing machine. Here, Parenell Darville tells me about straw making in the Bahamas. No one seems to know exactly how the craft took root here, but it is generally thought that it was probably brought by African slaves.

One major reason the craft proliferated is that the materials are close at hand and free. Parenell goes out with her family to gather fronds from the silvertop palms that grow in profusion throughout the islands. The fronds are hung to dry and then shredded into thin strands. These are plaited together in a process similar to hair braiding, the strips of fiber interlaced to form a pattern. The width of the finished strip depends on how thin individual strands are sliced and how many strands are woven together--23 strands, for example, produce a plait about four inches wide. There are about 25 different weaves unique to the Bahamas.

Silvertop is the most ubiquitous of materials used in Bahamian weaving, but I also saw works woven of light-colored straw from the pondtop palm and the wide, dark strands of coconut palm (interesting to look at but brittle). Sisal, a grass that grows locally, makes a thin, bristly strand that is beautifully fine in texture but difficult to work with so it appears only occasionally. Different colors are achieved through such techniques as singeing over fire to create a dark brown or soaking in salt water to produce black. Sometimes the weavers fashion designs based on the straw’s natural variations in color and texture.

The plaited strips are rolled into huge coils and used as the need arises. By cutting off a thin length, the artist creates a bookmark. A wider strip can be the start of a hat. Sew several pieces together, add a vibrant band of cloth and the hat is complete.

Grabbing a large round basket, Parenell shows me the technique used to create it. Unlike hats or tote bags made from plaited strips of dried leaves, the baskets incorporate both stalk and leaf. The stalks are bent into round coils to create the basket’s shape, and strands are woven individually around the coils to hold them in place. I saw some baskets of plaited straw, but without the firm structure of the coiled stalks, I was told, they’re not very strong.

I’m amazed at the variety of goods on display. Purses run in all sizes. Some are elaborately adorned, using wide swatches of straw for a flashy look; some are simple and tightly plaited with just a spray of flowers across the flap. Baskets display original shapes and designs with squared-off or cylindrical forms and striking rims of contrasting shape and texture.

Among the infinite array of hats, my favorites have a checkerboard pattern of dark brown and light tan. Parenell shows me how to weave straws of different tints together to create a diagonal two-tone effect. This is sometimes used for a whole hat, sometimes just for edging. She shows me how to sew in the brightly dyed raffia, a

ribbon-like material that’s threaded through the straw and flattened out to create splashes of color: a purple flower on a coin purse, a crimson zigzag on a bookmark.

This is a woman who knows her craft: Her products aren’t cheap (hats run $18-$30, bags $18-$25, baskets as high as $30), but they’re strongly woven, built to endure.

I settle for a sturdy, simple bag with a wide shoulder strap, into which I pile jars of Parenell’s homemade mango, soursop and guava jam. As I carry my loot (about $35 total), I grasp another reason why straw work became popular: It’s lightweight. Tote a bag under the blistering rays of the tropical sun and you’ll see what I mean. The shade provided by a broad-brimmed hat is reason enough for the industry to have grown.

I discover the value of a good straw hat while exploring Elbow Cay, a tiny Abaco island that is a half-hour ferry ride from Marsh Harbour. I walk through the charming village of Hope Town, admiring the peppermint-striped lighthouse, New England-style saltbox houses painted with a dash of tropical color, towering hibiscus plants and stately coconut palms. And then, as I pause to check out the pretty view from Lover’s Lane, the midday sun sends me looking for a shaded oasis. Walking along Back Street, I find something even better: Edith’s Straw Shop, in a simple white building.

I pass on the hair braiding that’s offered there as a sideline, opting to explore the straw goods lined up along the many shelves. When beloved straw weaver and local luminary Edith passed away a few years ago, her daughter Dedrie took over the shop. Her mother’s legacy of straw works sold quickly, so Dedrie now sells hats, purses and shoulder bags from Nassau craftspeople.

I’m in search of a hat, and these range from classically monochromatic to intricately interwoven with bright colors. Brims are large and floppy or upturned and rigid. Some are unembellished, some have a band of bright hue or floral pastel. I buy a simple one of soft, flexible straw with an emerald green band--at $8, it’s cheaper than sunscreen.

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Though it sees a fair amount of tourist action, Harbour Island is still unspoiled, famous for its pink sand beaches and friendly residents. As I walk through the island’s largest village, Dunmore Town, roosters squawk past clapboard cottages, and residents look up from their porches to bid me good afternoon.

I wander down to the harbor, where I find one of the best straw markets in the Out Islands. Several wooden stands bear the names of their proprietors, and while there are some store-bought goods here, a careful look is enough to determine the real thing. I stop at Dorothea’s Straworks and admire the table full of baskets, the hanging hats and bags that sway in the harbor-side breeze. “Your mama would be proud of those,” Dorothea Saunders informs me matter-of-factly as I admire the beautiful jewelry boxes with elaborate lids (large ones cost up to $25), and since she’s stripping a piece of cane with a rather fierce-looking knife as she speaks, I don’t argue. But instead I buy a simple, round, slightly asymmetrical basket ($6) and a large flat one ($14) with an elaborately interlaced pattern of concentric circles. Dorothea has pointed these out proudly as her work.

As Bay Street curves around the harbor, it is dotted with straw stands. I wander outside the main harbor area, and as I’m admiring the view of emerald waters and the distant island of Eleuthera, a voice calls, “How you doin’?” and I find myself at Jacqueline’s Straw Works. As I poke among tables overflowing with goods, I ask her about her work. In the Out Islands the vendors are open about which pieces are homemade and which aren’t, so all you have to do is ask. If you drop terms such as silvertop and plait (be sure to pronounce it “plat”), they’ll know you’re an authority.

Though proprietor Jacqueline Percentie no longer does her own plaiting, she still sews her own hats. Her children haven’t followed her in the craft, but her daughter grabs several strands and dashes off a plaited length to show me her mother taught her well. In addition to her hats, Jacqueline offers several locally made products: baskets with intricate diagonal patterns of thin and wide strips of blond straw from Current Island, off Eleuthera; hats of light and dark strips sewn with tiny stitches. I buy a hat in that pattern, trimmed with a turquoise band.

But I left my hats at home when I returned to the Out Islands in January. That way I had at least a feeble excuse for buying more. That visit took me to perhaps the most alluring and amiable Out Island of all: Great Exuma, the largest in a chain that extends southward from a spot just 40 miles from Nassau. The Exumians’ friendliness is legendary, and I encounter this at the straw market in George Town, the sleepy capital.

Under the ficus tree, a series of stands curves around the street corner. Behind each stand sits a saleswoman. Beyond the market lie the sheltered waters of Elizabeth Harbour, a favorite haven for the boating crowd. The few tourists who stroll the still-unspoiled streets inevitably stop at the straw market. There isn’t much to buy in George Town, and the market is strategically placed.

There are almost as many T-shirts on sale as straw products, but I ignore the overpriced “It’s better in the Bahamas” jerseys and spend my time looking at what’s really better: the straw. After checking out an array of hats and bags, bookmarks and baskets, I end up buying a $3 coin purse, lined inside and trimmed with a jaunty array of raffia flowers. My saleswoman remembers me for the duration of my five-day stay--that’s Exuma for you--and waves, calling “How you doin’?” every time I pass.

Wherever there’s a free spot of ground, I find someone selling straw. Down the block from the George Town market, I run into Cherry Adderley’s display outside the UPS station. She’s not always there, since she spends many days farming (indeed, she has a tempting selection of vegetables for sale alongside her straw products). But if she’s there when you walk by, it’s worth a stop. She has some of the finest straw work I’ve seen.

Back home I add these latest acquisitions to my collection of Out Islands souvenirs. Scattered across the bedroom wall is my collection of hats. If I look at them long enough, I can almost fancy that they have the diverse likenesses of the Out Islands--one long and sleek, another round, a third infused with color. Long after my tan has faded, my straw goods remain.

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GUIDEBOOK: The Weavers

Getting there: American, United and Carnival have nonstop service from LAX to Miami; there is direct service, with a stop but no change of planes, on Northwest; Continental and Delta have connecting flights. Advance-purchase, round-trip fares start at $310.

American and Gulfstream fly from Miami to Marsh Harbour; about $165, round-trip. American flies to George Town, about $245, round-trip from Miami. To get to Hope Town, Elbow Cay, fly to Marsh Harbour and take a boat. To reach Dunmore Town, Harbour Island, fly to North Eleuthera, and take a boat. Gulfstream and Airways International fly to North Eleuthera from Miami; about $185.

Where to find straw: (None of the shops or markets is reachable by phone and addresses are vague.)

Darville Straw Industry, just past Queen Elizabeth Road on Bay Street (across from Flour House Bakery), Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco.

Edith’s Straw Shop, Back Street (across from Vernon’s Grocery), Hope Town, Elbow Cay.

Harbour Island Straw Markets, Bay Street near People’s Dock at the end of Church Street, Dunmore Town, Harbour Island.

Exuma Straw Market on Main Street at town entrance; Cherry Adderley, near the UPS station, George Town, Great Exuma.

For more information: Bahamas Tourism Center, 3450 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 208, Los Angeles 90010; tel. (213) 385-0033, fax (213) 383-3966.

--R.R.