Who would have guessed that a career in soil science would allow you to travel around the world? And who would have guessed that you would encounter the world of gourds along the way?

          My husband, Wes, and I work together in the Agronomy and Soils Department at Auburn University, AL where he is a professor and I run his laboratory. His research in environmental soil science and nutrient cycling has taken him around the globe several times and I have been lucky enough to accompany him to many wonderful places. My passion for gourds didn’t really begin until fall of 1998, but the international encounter with gourds started well before then.

Labor Day weekend of 1996 a graduate student from Mexico accompanied us on the drive from Alabama to Monterey, Mexico to help us buy ceramic tile for our kitchen. I know it’s an odd thing to do, but no one has ever accused us of being very conventional. On this trip I found a small armadillo-like animal made from a gourd in one of the markets. The legs are 1” long dowel rods inserted in the bottom of the small round gourd. The head and tail protrude from holes in the gourd and are somehow attached by strings, which allow them to bob up and down like the “Bobble Head” dolls that are currently popular. I have yet to figure out how this was done. This armadillo gourd sits on a shelf in our kitchen bobbing his head in approval of the tile brought from his homeland.

        
In August of 1998 we traveled to Iquitos, Peru to collect soil samples from the bottom of shrimp and tilapia ponds. Iquitos is located on the mighty Amazon River and is only accessible by plane or boat. Knowing that we may never come this way again, we decided to stay an extra couple of days and go down the Amazon to the heart of the rainforest. We made reservations with Explorama Tours, which boasts the world’s longest canopy walkway through the treetops of the rainforest. We traveled 100 miles down river from Iquitos on the Amazon and up the Napo River to the Explonapo Camp. Here we slept under mosquito netting, saw monkeys swinging through the treetops, fished for piranha (Wes caught several), walked through the canopy walkway and saw beautiful toucans, humming birds, orchids and bromeliads, and hiked to a local village. It was at the village where I encountered Peruvian gourds. Keep in mind, gourds did not become a focal point of my life until later that same year. At the village there was a small open store where I traded small hotel soaps, mouthwash, deodorant, pencils and notepads for native items such as blowguns, necklaces made from seeds, and purses made from tree bark. Unbeknownst to me, there were many beautifully carved and wood-burned gourds hanging just above my head that went unnoticed. It was only after I discovered gourds, and, in going through those pictures again, did I realize my lost gourd opportunity in Peru.  I also remember seeing the many wood-burned gourds in the small shops in Iquitos. Bummer for me, huh? So close to the wonderful Peruvian gourds and not having a clue about them…

          In May of 2000 when we traveled to Nice, France for some meetings, I had been bitten by the gourd bug hard and was on the lookout for them. While browsing through the Nice tourism brochure, I was delighted to see the FESTIN DES COUGOURDONS (Gourd Festival). It read: “Every year in early spring, the popular Gourd Festival (FESTIN DES COUGOURDONS) is held in the gardens of Cimiez. The interesting shapes of gourds, traditionally grown in Nice, lend themselves to a wide variety of interpretations…” Bad timing for me once again, since the festival is held in March, and we were visiting in May. However, I set out to find the ‘cougourdons’ anyway. Knowing no French words, but armed with the brochure, I stopped at every vegetable market I saw and asked about the ‘cougourdons’. Met only with blank stares and shrugs, I continued the search. While visiting a small town east of Nice, and looking through postcards, I found a lovely postcard with gourds on it and the phrase “Couleurs du Sud”, which translates to Colors of the South. Finding that quaint postcard satisfied my quest for gourds in the south of France. Bringing home gourd propaganda is always better than bringing home nothing at all.
         
That trip proved to be my last personal international quest for gourds. In July 2001 we had a beautiful son who has kept me close to the home front. Wes has continued to travel for work and on a recent trip to Brazil he brought back a unique gourd hand mirror. The mirror is held in place by some sort of intricately designed polymer and the handle is bamboo-like. On the back is a simple 8-sided wood-burned star. I also received a small gourd with a pyro-engraved bird design from China. One of the professors in our department is from China and was nice enough to bring it back for me when she visited her family. Besides these gourd gifts, I have also purchased gourds crafted in Guatemala (a decorative rattle on a stick) and Peru, finally  (a musical rain stick/washboard combo) from a local gallery. The Rattling Gourd Gallery (www.rattlinggourdgallery.com) in Loachapoka, AL sells imports (including imported gourds), and fine art and crafted gourds created by local artists.

Working on a university campus, I am constantly exposed to students from other countries. When international students see the gourds I sometimes have in the lab, they share how the gourd is used in their home country. A student from the Congo recalled how the gourd, or thshilowa, as the gourd is called in his native tongue of Tshiluba, is used. He said, growing up, his mother would prepare their morning meal of fufu (mixture of corn flour, casava flour and water, similar to grits) and serve it in a gourd with a lid. The gourd not only kept the fufu warm, but also kept it from drying out and at a good consistency for up to 12 hours. If the fufu was kept in the gourd, it was still good as an after school snack when the children returned home.  He says the fufu only stays good for about 3-4 hours in tupperware.  After hearing this, I immediately took a small kettle gourd and cut out a lid and cleaned it so that he could use it for his fufu. He was very grateful and promised to send me a gourd from the Congo when he returns. Something as simple as a gourd can make someone feel closer to home when they are still a world apart.

          I feel very fortunate to have found gourds in many of the countries we visited. After reading articles in the American Gourd Society newsletter The Gourd by Leigh Adams chronicling her trip to Gourd Island in China, and Leif Swanson’s search for gourds in SE Asia, I felt I should share what I have found in other countries. I also feel fortunate to have met students who incorporate gourds into their everyday lives.

If you are traveling abroad anytime soon, keep your eyes open for gourds. You never know where you might find them.