Today we traveled to Katoka to learn about balata. Balata is a type of latex harvested from trees in the savanna, the Amerindians use it to make water jugs, small toys, bowls and even belts. We all got on boats in the morning to ride to Katoka, which is about a forty minute boat ride away. To reach Katoka during the rainy season, we had to drive the boats through a flooded forest; we could hear monkeys above us on our ride in. After we reached the end of the flooded forest, we got out of the boat and began our hike through flooded savanna to the village. We walked for about an hour on a flooded trail, the water was up to our calves the whole way. When we reached the village, we crossed a bridge over a small area of wetlands to the other side of the village. The village was swarming with children when we arrived, and it is likely that it was their first time seeing a group of Caucasians. They were very timid but also very interested in what we were doing there.
We gave our crude balata to a group of women who boiled it and kneaded the hot balata with their hands. They began forming the balata around other bowls so it would keep its shape. We observed the balata process and then some of us got to try out the trade for ourselves, most of our bowls were malformed and sad-looking compared to the women’s bowls. We then left the village to see how balata was harvested from bullet trees, the process is very similar to maple syrup tapping.
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