Decorating techniques can begin while the fruit is green. Incised designs will remain and will be darker after drying. The gourd is harvested when the stem is dry, by cutting several inches of stem with a sharp implement. Curing and preserving techniques are being explored and relearned these days. Many months are necessary for the process of curing.
Most growers leave the gourd intact until it is dry and the seeds rattle inside when shaken.
Other growers open the ipu at the top and scrape out the pulp and seeds, traditionally with an opihi shell, then filling the ipu with a saltwater solution, or with sand. Sometimes an injection dye is used as a decorative technique. These dyes can be made from manmade or plant dyes, such as those with tannic acid, like kukui root bark, kukui leaves mixed with alae dirt, coffee or tea, or the oxalic acid of taro . Most were simply left their natural color, which is golden brown when dry, but some were decorated with geometric designs, pawhe, and then stained. The necks were closed off with a stopper, made from a shell, carved wood, coral or a folded leaf.