20.00 EUR
JOYCE striped sisal basket
Top diameter: 23 cm - 9.1 inch
Bottom diameter: 13 cm - 5.1 inch
Height: 19 cm - 7.4 inch
HADITHI
meaning 'story' in Swahili
a story that goes like this:
I'm a basket woven with sisal threads. The woman that made me proudly shows her creations here. She is called Joyce.
Joyce lives in Kenia, in the Kasigau region. She is one of the 250 beautiful ladies that form the Kasigau Basket Weaver Group.
Basket weaving is a traditional craft in a number of Kenyan tribes. The age-old basket weaving skill is passed on from grandmother to granddaughter.
The process of making these baskets starts with the sisal plant. Plants that are richly grown in Kenya. After harvesting the leaves are 'skinned' until only their fibers remain. The fibers are left to dry. The dried fibers are firmly rolled into threads, which goes best on a bare thigh (auch!). The same amount of fibers has to be selected at all times, to keep the same thickness overall. Quite some hours will pass, to obtain enough thread to weave a full basket.
Some threads are also colored beforehand. Traditional coloring can be used, like earth, tree bark or keeping the treads underground between plant roots to darken. Bright colors are obtained with textile dyes. Then finally, the weaving can start. Showing off their creativity in crazy patterns and colors is just the thing these ladies like!
By purchasing one of these baskets you will support:
❥ THE LADIES of the Kasigau region in Kenya. Gathering their income from basket weaving means less dependance on often failing harvests. The benefits of basket sales are fully spent on supporting their families, making them able to pay for nutritious food, education fees or improving their homes. Elderly ladies, which are often most skilled, can continue to contribute to better off their families, even when physical strength is taming.
❥ The conservation of a threatened FOREST and it's WILDLIFE. When harvests fail, often the only other ways to provide income is to chop down trees and turn them into charcoal to sell or poaching valuable wildlife in the area.
❥ And of course, preserving the beautiful TRADITION of weaving baskets!
To learn more about HADITHI and the nature conservation organization behind it, you can turn to:
❥ www.hadithi-kenya.com
❥ www.wildlifeworks.com
Also, please visit our About-page to see what's behind the shop...
❥ www.etsy.com/shop/HADITHI/about