Nieuwendijk – Anyone familiar with the history of the Biesbosch workers or the resistance movement in the Biesbosch will know that the basket played a key role in the connections between the northern and southern banks of the Biesbosch.
The basket, as it is commonly known, was reinstalled in 2000 to keep the story alive. After a few years, the basket had deteriorated due to the weather, and a temporary replacement was put up each time.
Learnt from an early age
In 2025, Staatsbosbeheer set out to find someone who could make the basket authentically and in accordance with traditional craftsmanship. That request found its way to Marc van der Pijl from Nieuwendijk.
“I come from a family of osier workers and reed cutters; it’s in my blood. I was just born too late for the trade,” says 53-year-old Marc van der Pijl.
“Even as a child, I used to go to the Biesbosch. I grew up there and have become deeply attached to it over the years. I learnt the art of weaving from Jan Hoevenaar. When Staatsbosbeheer asked if I could make a new basket, it felt like an honour. I immediately thought of my mentor Jan, and we set to work on it together.”
Honourable
“It was an immense honour for me too,” says 83-year-old Jan Hoevenaar from Lage Zwaluwe.
“I’ve grown up with the Biesbosch. My father worked there and knew the area like the back of his hand. That’s how he got involved with the resistance; he was one of the line runners. The Biesbosch remained a special place in my heart."
“As a young man, I went to work elsewhere as a carpenter and later as a site supervisor, but the Biesbosch remained a special place in my heart. At the age of 61, I stopped working and returned to the Biesbosch. I started working as a guide, because I knew the stories from the inside.”
Willow weaving
“One thing led to another: I started tending an osier bed and learnt the art of willow weaving from Henk van Breugel in Werkendam. Now I’m the one in my eighties who wants to pass on the craft to the next generation.”
This is no ordinary basket; this is a monument
“That’s how Marc came to learn the trade from me. My hands can no longer weave for long, but making this basket was a gift. This is no ordinary basket; this is a monument.”
Means of communication
The basket was positioned in a prominent spot on the bank on the north side of the Amer, directly opposite Drimmelen. When the labourers working in the Biesbosch wanted to return at the end of the day, they would hoist the basket.
The ferryman, who was also the landlord of Café ’t Voske, would then know that they needed to be picked up. From the basket, a dyke ran as a footpath through the polders where reed cutters and osier workers were at work.
White sheets
During the war, the basket took on an additional function. Anyone hoisting the basket to cross the river could tell from the white sheets whether the crossing was safe.
If there were Germans in the vicinity, the pub owner’s wife would hang sheets outside as a warning. Various signals had been agreed upon, and the basket played an important role in this.
North and south
“The basket symbolised a connection between north and south. I experienced that again whilst making it and I want to emphasise that,” says Marc.
“We worked on this together from both sides of the Biesbosch. I went around gathering stories everywhere, because the basket is history. I wasn’t there myself, but I do want to know the real story.”
“Stories emerged from old Biesbosch residents such as Jan Reuser and Louis van Suijlekom. Its reinstallation in 2000 was an initiative of the Friends of the Biesbosch.”
Not a fairy tale
“Oak grove workers, reed cutters and basket weavers are a dying trade,” say the men.
“Working in the Biesbosch was no fairy tale,” emphasises Marc.
“It was a tough world. The fact that people now go on holiday to the Biesbosch would be incomprehensible to my grandfather.”
Heart and Soul
Both men say that their fathers devoted their hearts and souls to the Biesbosch, and that the same is true for them.
“To me, the Biesbosch is like a family home. It’s part of me, and that’s where I feel at home,” says Marc.
Both are active members of the volunteer osier bed workers who maintain an osier bed every Wednesday at the Pannekoek in Werkendam.
“All the osier workers are over 75,” says Jan. “And then we have Marc as the younger generation. The craft is slowly dying out.”
A monument
“The basket isn’t just a simple basket made of willow twigs; it’s a monument,” emphasises Jan.
The basket will be officially re-hung on 10 March. It is a basket that has been carefully woven by two icons of the Biesbosch: two men who know the story from the inside, have mastered the ancient craft, and want the story of the Biesbosch to live on.
Written by Mariëlle Pelle
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