Beating the sago pith into starchy pulp
Sago is the main food staple for most Lindrou people. The preparation of sago involves a lot of hard work. First the sago palm is felled, the bark is split away revealing the starchy pith in the trunk. Lindrou men then beat the pith to a pulp with a bow shaped tool.
Beating the sago pith into starchy pulp
Then the Lindrou women collect the pulp, carry it to a washing trough. Then they knead the pulp while pouring fresh water (from the stream) over the pulp. The starch dissolves into the liquid and collects in the container on the ground (an old canoe).
Washing the sago in a trough and filter. The sago starch
collects in the long container (an old canoe) on the ground.
The starch settles in the bottom of the container and is collected and dried. In this form it is almost the consistency of soft chalk and can be stored for a long time. When needed for cooking, the chalky starch is mixed with water or coconut oil. The Lindrou often fry it on a hot plate stirring it so that it resembles crumbled up ground meat as shown below.
Sago fried in the Lindrou tradition