Many people shuck the husks off fresh corn and throw those fibrous casings away but the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese artisans know that these casings are prime plaiting materials for making a variety of tiny baskets or small, round pira mats. When dried and then moistened again, corn husks are quite pliable. Hungma Subba expertly fashions the husks into pira mats for home use and for sale through RAW. Finding a steady supply of corn husks in Worcester, Massachusetts, though, is a challenge for Ellen and Joan of RAW: in local grocery stores the vegetable section supervisors look negatively at people who stand in the aisles and shuck their fresh corn cobs and try to collect the husks.
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Bhim Subba, Dar Ku, Fadhila Mohammad, Halima Chalihou, Hiveen Rasoul, Hsa Meh, Jahar Ghalley, Katidja Bouba, Kul Maya, Maita Subba, Nandi and Kausila Guragai, Nir Subba, Tabitha Nyaikamba
