The History of Gourds as Containers

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Gourds were human’s earliest containers. Their diversity in size and shape let early peoples select them for a variety of purposes. Some were cut in half and filled with food, hot rocks were added to cook those contents. Others with flat bottoms and long necks held and easily dispensed liquids. Early on they were decorated as we humans want to add beauty to our homes, be they caves, teepees, or fiber covered structures. In Kenya, where gourds were essential to life for ten thousand years, the proliferation of plastics led to a decline in their use. With the help of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, a museum there preserves the most diverse germ plasma for bottle gourds in the world and teaches woman decorating and marketing practices. I wonder if art galleries in the future display lovingly decorated Tupperware?