river sand

History & Usage

Everyday use

Toolmakers value sand as a material for grinding and polishing stone. A gourd filled with coarse sand, and having small holes punched in its base, filters large particles out of water.  It is useful as padding, weighting, supporting round objects, and in so many other small ways that women habitually keep a pot full of sand in the house for general purposes.  As a result of this practice, young girls have also repeatedly discovered that sand is good for playing with, an application discouraged by their mothers.

Refinement

To be useful as grinding and polishing material, sand must be separated according to grain size.  Women sift the sand through a series of baskets woven into mesh of different grades.

Hazards

Sand can be gathered from the riverbank, but there it tends to be mixed in with other debris that makes it unsuitable for polishing and only passable for grinding. The best sand, cleanest and with the most uniform grain size, is found in the bed of the river itself. To minimize risk, sand is gathered in the dry months, when the water is at its lowest level.  Even so, it takes a woman with a lack of good sense to brave the cold water and strong currents--generally, these are the same foolhardy women who set out fish traps.

Environmental Impact

When removed in small quantities, the river can easily replenish during the rainy season the sand taken from it in the dry months.

Distribution

Trade & Market

There is not much demand for trade in sand.  Since it isn't used in vast quantities, each village is capabale of producing enough for its own needs, and the inherent danger in gathering sand makes it a poor choice of material to try to acquire in excess.

View from the future

Sand is still an important resource throughout modern human civilization, but more advanced tools and trasportation make it far less dangerous to collect.