Mallets

As Gateja explains to some people who have came to see his work, the cloth comes from the inner bark of a ficus tree. It is harvested during the wet season and then, in a long process, beaten with different types of wooden mallets to make its texture soft, fine and give it an even terra-cotta color.

Cooking crabs is fairly easy. But eating them can be a challenge. The shells are still very hard. Some people use special tools called crackers and mallets to crack the shells and reach the meat. Other use their hands, breaking at weak points of the shell. Either way, it is a messy meal that usually leaves the eaters covered in shell, bits of meat and lots of red seasoning.