Emilo Choco is the real DIY Hammock Man!!!

**Preacha Man** · 06-01-2007, 17:10

Hey guys,

Saw this on Youtube and thought WOW, this guy makes his own rope

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYw7V4AAPX0

**Frolicking Dino** · 06-01-2007, 18:43

Wow - thanks for sharing that. I want to be him when I grow up.

**Miguel** · 06-01-2007, 19:21

Thanks.....that brought back some memories. I spent eight weeks in Guatemala a couple of years ago, studying spanish. I believe he was speaking an indian dialect. I've seen hammocks made directly from the plant in Puerto Rico. They were considered collector's items that were commissioned and sold for a helluva lot more than $25. (I did love the logic for his pricing)

Miguel

**Dutch** · 06-01-2007, 19:50

He should go to Walmart and get some ripstop. He could still sell them for $25and make $22.
Peace Dutch

**Frolicking Dino** · 06-01-2007, 19:51

Ahh, but the trip to WalMart would cost more than $25

**slowhike** · 06-01-2007, 22:00

now i liked that. cool!!!

**Cannibal** · 06-01-2007, 22:34

Very cool! Makes me want to take a nap.

**steene** · 06-02-2007, 06:05

Emilio is speaking a mayan dialect. And he is referring to Belizean Dollars not US Dollars, so his months work goes for around $13 USD.
These hammocks were readily available at almost any marketplace during my Peace Corps days in Guatemala (June 92 - Oct 95). The sellers usually bought them from campesinos like Emilio out in the sticks and jacked their prices up once they got them to town.
The string usually wears through where your butt sits and then the whole thing will start to unravel. But, they are totally biodegradable and are usually dyed different colors.
The ones made from nylon string or twine last longer but still wear through with time and unravel. Same technique to make them.
Only the knotted ones wont totally unravel if they develope a hole. The knotted ones are usually made by fisherman or around fishing villages. The inmates in the local jails make both varieties on the Pacific coast. The guards by the twine buy them twine, which the inmates split and spin into string and then knot or weave items that the guards sell on the outside.
Enough of my babbling, gotta go to work. Wade

**slowhike** · 06-02-2007, 06:23

Originally Posted by steene

Emilio is speaking a mayan dialect. And he is referring to Belizean Dollars not US Dollars, so his months work goes for around $13 USD.
These hammocks were readily available at almost any marketplace during my Peace Corps days in Guatemala (June 92 - Oct 95). The sellers usually bought them from campesinos like Emilio out in the sticks and jacked their prices up once they got them to town.
The string usually wears through where your butt sits and then the whole thing will start to unravel. But, they are totally biodegradable and are usually dyed different colors.
The ones made from nylon string or twine last longer but still wear through with time and unravel. Same technique to make them.
Only the knotted ones wont totally unravel if they develope a hole. The knotted ones are usually made by fisherman or around fishing villages. The inmates in the local jails make both varieties on the Pacific coast. The guards by the twine buy them twine, which the inmates split and spin into string and then knot or weave items that the guards sell on the outside.
Enough of my babbling, gotta go to work. Wade

not babbling, interesting stuff. i think it would be neat to learn to make twine out of local plants just for the experience, but i doubt i would ever take the time to make a hammock...especially considering all the work involved & that the hammock would be kinda temporary

**Frolicking Dino** · 06-02-2007, 07:32

A good friend from childhood had to make a twine hammock for girl scouts years ago - all of the girls worked on it and got a badge for doing it. The moms bought the twine and the girls had to weave it. It was very similar to the one in this video. (I was at her house the day they did this watching her baby brother so her mom could focus on the scout activities.)

Emilo mentioned the difficulty of starting it. The mothers had this paper card to get it started - they poked the twine thru from the back and threaded it (sort of like lacing shoes) using guides on the paper to show where it should go. They threaded the twine as directed and then ripped off the paper card which left the first three rows or so started and then handed it over to the girls. The mothers also finished the other end with a similar paper card.

They did it in a single afternoon.