▲ A Repeat this process, starting the loop on the opposite warp string. Pull each weft tight and hold them with the fingers as you weave.

Measure your foot and trim the edges. (Photo by Richard Jamison).

▲ A When you have filled the warp strings, or the sandal is as long as your foot with about an inch to spare to accommodate overhanging toes and heels, untie the loose end of the warp strings and retie them tightly to securely hold the weft in place.

▲ A Measure the width of your foot, plus a little extra, and trim the outer edges. Be careful not to trim the outer edges too closely or the weft will come loose.

The sandal is tied to the foot by a piece of cordage which is threaded through and tied to the foot or around the ankle in any way that is comfortable.

These sandals generally don’t last more than a few days, but the usefulness can be extended by adding a few more warp fillers if the weave gets loose.

Bags

It was common to use human hair or yucca cordage in non-loom looped bags. Usually the bag was made as a rectangle then folded over and sewed with running or overcast stitches down the side and across the bottom. It was a simple thing, then, to run strings of cordage through the top of a looped bag.

Another variety of bag, twined from finely processed yucca cordage, was straight-sided and almost flat-bottomed, like a deep container, or sometimes slightly narrowed at the opening and egg shaped. Other types of bags were also common; such as the coarse, larger ones made from whole yucca leaves and used as storage receptacles, and smaller bags made of a combination of human hair and yucca cordage.

Mats

For years, I spent many restless nights sleeping on uncomfortable lumps and holes in the ground before I took the time to devise a sleeping pad or mat. For my purpose, a bunch of long reeds or cattail leaves sufficed because we were constantly moving camp; but for the people who occupied the same area hundreds of years before, woven mats were definitely among their household furnishings.

Mats come in a wide range of sizes for different purposes and can be made of a variety of available materials, including whole or split yucca leaves, tules, grasses, willow, reeds, rushes or bark. Large mats are used for sitting, sleeping pads, floor coverings, partitions, and shelter construction. Smaller mats are used to set items on or to serve food. For decoration, the edges of mats can be fringed by leaving the yucca leaf unwoven at the edges and fraying the ends.

Fire starting material

Of all the materials I have used to start fires by friction, I like yucca the best. Once the flower matures, the outside leaves of the yucca die and the flower stock becomes very woody. At this stage, the small stalks of the Yucca glauca make great hand drills, or if they are too crooked, a five to ten inch piece can be cut out for a bow drill.

The larger plants, Yucca baccata and the Agave have stalks that grow as tall as eight to ten feet and three to four inches in diameter—just right to cut up for fireboards, which should be about six inches long (or even a little longer, considering that you hold them down with your foot).

I have also used yucca as fire plow material with success; this method takes a lot of hard work. Still, no pain, no flame!

Food

For the native Americans of the Southwest, the yucca plant was an important food source, providing sustenance throughout most of the year. Not only was it prolific, it was nourishing and provided some valuable nutrients to a sparse diet.

According to the Cactus Cookbook printed by the Cactus and Succulent Society, yucca blossoms have been found to contain 343-398 milligrams of ascorbic acid per 100 grams of flowers. The flowers and stalks are also rich in sugar.

Because the yucca is so prolific, easy to identify, and does not resemble any poisonous plant, it is an ideal species to experiment with, either in the field or at home. Here is an opportunity for the adventurous to experience textures and flavors that can’t be found anywhere else. Just remember that a genuine interest in wild plants must also lead to conservation measures.

My only warning is for anyone not accustomed to a steady diet of wild plants to use moderation. According to one source, the fruits of yucca are reported to be cathartic to some degree. On the trail I once ate only one-quarter of a pod raw, and it caused severe swelling in the back of my mouth and throat. From that experience I learned that cooking the fruit is best for me.

I also prefer to remove the outer skin and seeds of the yucca fruit because the skin of some species has a slight bitter taste. We have tried steaming the fruit pods at home—with a touch of mayonnaise they tasted a little like artichoke hearts. On another occasion, we cooked yucca pods in a steam pit with squirrel and birds, stuffing them inside. It was great. There is nothing like sitting down to a big meal of skewered pack rats and all the yucca cakes you can eat.

The following parts of the yucca are edible, when available, in greater or lesser degrees depending on the species:

Central spike—when it first emerges in the spring it looks much like a large asparagus and can be peeled and sliced crosswise, then baked or fried.

Flower buds—should be collected just before they open. They should be parboiled, discarding the water, and rinsed thoroughly before serving.

Flowers in bloom—should be soaked overnight then boiled. The mature petals can be fried. (Be careful not to eat the yucca moth.) Flower petals are also good as an ingredient in soups or raw in salads. Some species can be somewhat bitter, however, but the flavor improves with parboiling.

Ripe fruits—should be peeled first and the seeds removed, then they can be boiled, roasted, baked or fried. The fruit pods can also be baked, then dried and mashed into meal and patted into cakes for storage. The boiled pulp can be simmered down to a stiff paste which is then rolled onto a sheet and dried in the sun for storage or eaten as a delicious sweetmeat. The fruit of the yucca can be picked before it fully ripens, then allowed to dry. This is a good idea because the pod is vulnerable to burrowing insects.

Ripe seeds—are collected from Yucca glauca when the pods open, or can be removed from the Yucca baccata before the fruits decay. They can be roasted and ground to use as a coffee substitute, or ground to make flour or meal.

Soap

I have often used the root fibers of yucca for cleaning my hands and the crown as a scouring brush to wash pots and pans.

An average yucca root is about seven to ten inches long and one to two inches in diameter and looks like a dried sweet potato (it may look like a sweet potato, but to be sure, it does not taste like one!).

In the 1800s a company in Illinois made soap from the plant and put it on the market. More recently, a company marketed a shampoo called “Yucca Dew.” Whether it actually contained any part of the yucca plant, I do not know.

For soap or shampoo use one inch or larger yucca tap roots with green tops. Peel the bark from the roots and cut them into small pieces and pulverize them in a piece of cloth if you have one. Then place the roots in warm water and agitate them until the water has a milky appearance. The root may be used with some caution as a laxative.