PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR NATURE BAG™

Because each Nature Bag™ is handmade at home—not in a factory, no two bags are identical. Fabric density and JungleVine™ cord diameter vary. Even structural design shows variation.

All have a single seam at the bottom. It could be made of JungleVine™ or recycled cloth salvaged from old clothing. Occasionally twisted multiple strand cotton thread is used to help form and attach the seam to the JungleVine™ wall. Some seams stretch significantly; others little or not at all. Decorative tassels on most bags are extensions of the seam material. If you do not like tassels, they can be easily trimmed away with scissors.

Most bags are narrower at the top and bottom. The center parts of the walls are more elastic, which further helps keep cargo from spilling. This shape results in the potential of off-setting items from those above or below, increasing bag capacity with some shapes of cargo and further reducing the pressure of cargo items on each other.

When held by its single strap, the bag tends to close. The more weight that is being carried, the tighter the closure will be. If cargo items protrude through the opening, the closure applies a gentle pressure to help keep them inside.

Knitted or Crocheted?

The answer is: actually neither. The makers use a needle and a small bar when forming JungleVine™ fabric. Crochet utilizes a single needle; knitting two. However, people highly experienced with either technique give conflicting opinions when examining the finished fabric. We describe the Nature Bag™ as being “knitted” because that term is more universally meaningful. A fabric expert might use the term “catching” to describe the stitching technique.

JungleVine™ Cord

A naturally growing hardy perennial vine with an enormous deep-growing root is the source of JungleVine™ cord. The word for it in the makers’ language is hmpiat. The Lao language has a different name for it. In other parts of the world it is referred to as tropical kudzu, but it is different from “kudzu” that is a pest in the southeastern U.S. Unlike the nuisance vine that snarls utility lines and strangles trees, JungleVine™ grows along the ground rather than climbing. Science has classified it as pueraria phaseoloides.

The vine is dormant most of the year in northern Laos, but grows quickly during the rainy season. It can be found on the outskirts of the villages of the makers but is more widespread at higher elevations near where they conduct most of their agriculture. Sometimes a pest in their cultivated fields, it has been used elsewhere as a living mulch to choke and prevent weeds while slowing evaporation of moisture from corn and bean fields.

Because it is not cultivated, only human energy is required for its harvesting. A long-lasting needle, a small bar, skill and patience are the resources needed to create a Nature Bag™. The finished bags are so lightweight that little carbon-sourced energy is consumed for transport to your door. Like all vegetation, the growth of JungleVine™ removes carbon from the air while producing the oxygen that humans/animals need to live. Because they are made at home, usually in daylight, no carbon-sourced energy is required for commuting, lighting and ventilation. Children can be nurtured and traditional earth-friendly traditional ways of life preserved. We believe a Nature Bag™ should be considered carbon negative. That its ecological footprint is miniscule is without dispute.

The makers gather the vine, strip off the leaves and cut it into sections approximately 60 cm (2 feet) long. The vine is not large in diameter, perhaps 6 mm (0.25 inches). Using a knife, the green outer layer is removed and very thin ribbons of white shiny fiber are stripped away from the interior. The fiber is extremely strong—usually nearly impossible to break by pulling at it. If you have thin non-textile ribbons as tassels on your Nature Bag™ they are this fiber.

The segments of ribbon are twisted into cord using the hands and a leg as a rolling surface. The video “How to Make a Nature Bag™” depicts this fascinating technique.
JungleVine™ cord is lightweight but nearly impossible to break by pulling, although it can be cut. It has a surface texture that gives it a tackiness that is non-sticky but moderately cohesive. It decomposes when buried, but does not significantly rot or lose strength with use or age. It is not attractive to insects, and we have not seen mold grow on it when the conditions were perfect for fungus. The makers traditionally used it as fishing line because of its strength and its endurance when wet. In addition to bags, it continues to be used today to tie the umbilical cord of the newborn. That seems to indicate that it is non-toxic and hypoallergenic.

We have “worn out” only one Nature Bag™ -- after nearly 3 years of virtually daily use. It “wore out” because small holes created when a cord was cut by snagging or rubbing against sharp edges of cargo increased in size and/or became so numerous that only large objects could be contained. Severing a section of cord results in the unbalancing of the 4-sided stitch with a knot in each corner that is the basis of the fabric. Over time, as the stitch is subjected to pulling forces from cargo, the knots on the ends of the severed cord section slip open, and a small hole appears. The hole grows as nearby stitches also become undone. Because of the tackiness of JungleVine™ and its tendency to stick, especially to other JungleVine™, this is a very slow process. It takes many months of hard use for a hole to grow so large as to make a bag unreliable, even for small cargo. More likely a bag will be discarded for decomposition when the appearance of the number and sizes of holes make it “un-cool” or unattractive to its user.

Style and Appreance

Most bags have an appearance that is somewhat shiny like silk or satin. Colors range from very light tan to medium-dark brown. A single Nature Bag™ can have a range of shades of tans/browns, occasionally slightly reddish, while appearing to be a uniform color from a distance. Rarely, this variation can be dramatic--as if a totally different shade of cord was used to form a small area. Sometimes the color variation appears to be a stain, but actually was caused by a sightless maker choosing a cord segment that doesn’t exactly match. We attempt to identify such statements of individual style and inform the prospective buyer of their existence.

There is a darkening as a bag ages. This is thought to come from soiling and exposure to sunlight. Different sections sometimes darken unevenly. The result, although different, is not unattractive.
Where organic cotton straps are used, they typically are shades of tan similar to JungleVine™ but range from shades of light gray or brown to very white. A few straps are not uniform in color. There can be darker areas. Most of these differences appear to be the result of natural variations in the organic cotton color. A few bags have straps that have been used on earlier bags and their appearance might reflect their recycled character.

Stripes or Bands style bags use JungleVine™ that has been dyed before being made into fabric to create the stripes and bands. Brightly colored cotton thread might be used to add individual style to the bottom, top and strap of a Nature Bag™. Most bags have tassels at each end of the seam, and these tassels sometimes are made with brightly colored thread, recycled cloth or dyed JungleVine™ ribbons.

Colored thread is used on other portions of a Nature Bag™, usually to create subtle narrow horizontal bands of style. Some makers like to create bits of color by sewing thread into a stitch of JungleVine™ as their “signature,” creating an isolated small tuft of color with seeming whimsy about its placement. Some cotton straps have colored bands that are not always color coordinated with the rest of the bag.

There also are straps that have picked up light blotches of color, barely noticeable, but apparently from the fingers of the maker or from handling if if dye has been used on the Nature Bag™. Finger tips can be used to apply dye to the jungle vine cord knit, and whether traces of it make it to the cotton strap by design is not known.

Except for the bags we have categorized as Little or No Color, each Nature Bag™ has a series of dark narrow horizontal stripes wrapping around its jungle vine cord knitted cargo container. The number of stripes and their location vary as do their color and width. These stripes are made by dyeing the cord before it is knitted.

Brightly colored cotton thread frequently is used to add individual style to the bottom, top and strap of a Nature Bag™. Most bags have tassels on the two bottom corners, and frequently these tassels are made with brightly colored thread. Strips of cloth and ribbons pealed from the jungle vine also are used as tassels.

Colored thread is used on other portions of a Nature Bag™, usually to create subtle narrow horizontal bands of style. Some makers like to create bits of color by sewing thread into a stitch of jungle vine cord knitting, creating an isolated small tuft of color with seeming whimsy about its placement.

This texture variation can be arranged so that it appears as a diagonal pattern extending across an entire side. Other times the loose threads are longer, not curled and near the strap attachment points. If you do not like these loose threads, they are easily trimmed off.

The Flashy/Colorful style is a Nature Bag™ where dye has been applied to the fabric using finger tips. The conventional location for these bursts of color is within the bands of horizontal stripes, but on a few bags is applied elsewhere. Typically this use of color is restrained and tasteful, but not necessarily coordinated with other colors on the same bag. Some uses of color are subtle.

A few Flashy/Colorful style bags have a potential for undesirable color transfer especially when moisture is present. We have tested each bag for this potential and if found, we include a specific warning when it is shipped. But we also warn all shoppers browsing Flashy/Colorful style: Until this Nature Bag™ has been conditioned by several weeks of frequent use, please be aware of the possibility of color transfer to contents or to clothing, especially where there is dampness present and repeated rubbing. The colors from which this is most likely to occur are intense reds, pinks, violets, purples and, more rarely, greens. Such color transfer could occur to the extent that it is a problem. Please be careful because we don't want a precious garment of light color to pick up some unexpected hues. If you experience transfer, promptly clean the garment according to its care instructions.