Gourd Bag

Gourds played an important part of ancient history of many cultures.
They were made into bowls, water jugs, containers, musical instruments and etc.
It takes at least six months to grow and six months to dry a hardshell gourd.
It is indeed a fascinating inedible vegetable.
In this instructable, I would like to use this natural, sustainable material to make a bag.
I hope you like my creation.

Choose a hardshell gourd according to the size and shape of your choice.
Scrub any dirt and the outer skin clean with a kitchen scrubber.
Sketch your design.
Cut the gourd with a jigsaw.
Remove the seeds and pulp.
Sand the inside smooth.

Have fun painting your design.
Apply three coats of lacquer or more on the gourd surface. Choose from Satin, semi gloss, or high gloss.
Apply coating on the inside, too. One coat should be sufficient for the inside.

Drill according to diagram, using 1/8 and 1/4" drill bits.

Insert seagrass through the 1/8" holes on the top gourd, make knotts inside and outside as shown on the diagram.
Insert Manila rope through the 1/4" holes and make knotts as shown.

Slide the top part of the gourd up the rope to open bag and down to close the bag.