Beautiful Baskets from Ghana- Just in time for Easter and Graduation!

We love our baskets from Ghana, and are excited to expand the line just in time for Easter and Graduation- each bsket is hand made by the talented weavers, and the colors and designs are amazing!
These will make a really special Easter Basket, or a wonderful and unique graduation gift ( they are great in a dorm room to toss stuff in or hang from a bedpost!)

These sturdy, all natural baskets are made from elephant grass with goat hide handles. They are strong and flexible and can easily be re-shaped by getting them wet with water and re-working them with your hands !

After some of the pictures below, you can enjoy reading about the history of the "bolga" basket and lots of cool information on how they are made.
We look forward to your comments- and continuing to bring you beautiful handmade items from around the world at www.earthlovershopping.com!

You can view the entire collection at

http://www.earthlovershopping.com/natural-living-and-home/bolgatanga-market-baskets 

Each basket comes with a hang tag telling the story of the artist who wove it and a wonderful picture. 

Traditional Round Bolgatanga Basket

Traditional Market Baskets

Enjoy these photos of the weavers-

 HISTORY of the "Bolga" Basket

Internationally known as Bolga baskets, the baskets are exclusively woven by the indigenous people of a historical town in Northern Ghana called Bolgatanga. Bolgatanga literally means soft soil, rocky land.

Weaving has been a traditional skill of these people over the years. The geographical land area of Bolgatanga is not fertile enough for extensive agricultural activities. Coupled with an erratic rainfall pattern and generally harsh weather conditions, handicraft activities such as basket weaving, leather work and pottery are undertaken mostly by the women to supplement their incomes from the subsistence of farming activities.

The original Bolga basket was woven round, without any form of handle. The ends of the straw were left untrimmed. It was used basically as a sieve in the brewing of a local alcoholic beverage called pito. Pito was, and is still, an important drink during such occasions such as funerals, marriage ceremonies, festivals, naming ceremonies and at other important social gatherings.

With a population of about 225,000, only 10,000 people from 19 communities possess the basket weaving skill in Bolgatanga, which has been passed on from generation to generation in the community. Today, the Bolga basket has become an object of tourist attraction. With different forms, designs and colorful patterns, the basket is loved for its unique designs and colourful patterns. There have been several attempts, particularly by some Asian countries, to imitate the Bolga basket and call them African baskets. However, just like all other imitated products, the Bolga basket is differentiated from the non-authentic ones by its rigid body due to the use of the straw of the “veta vera” grass (locally called elephant grass) against the flabby imitated ones made from sea grass.

RAW MATERIALS USED

• THE STRAW
  The straw is the main raw material used. It is obtained from a tropical grass locally known as elephant grass, with “veta vera” grass being the technical name. The grass grows along the banks of rivers, streams and swampy areas. The straw is not simply cut from the grass. The grass grows, matures and tussles just like wheat. The straw then tussles with a broom-like flower at the top, maturing by growing longer and bigger. The straw is then harvested by holding a stem with the left hand and the husk that encloses the straw with the right hand and pulling it down, leaving the husks on the grass for further tussles. The flower at the top of the straw is cut off near a nib using the forefinger and the thumb. This is done to every single piece of straw. The straw is harvested wet, then sun-dried, and becomes ready to go through the weaving process. However, some baskets can be woven with the wet straw, but these do not have the quality that is associated with the baskets woven with the dried straw.

THE WEAVING PROCESS

• SPLITTING
  The straw is first split into two halves by biting every single piece in the middle at one end with the teeth to open it into two. The first half is held by the teeth and other half is pulled down with one hand. About half an inch to the end of the straw, the process is ended. This is to make the next step easier. This process is done to every single piece of straw that is to be used in the weaving process.
• TWISTING
  The split straw is wrapped together in a wet sack to keep it wet and prevent it from breaking during the twisting process. The split piece of straw is then twisted by rolling the two halves together. Traditionally, this is done on the weaver's thigh. However, today, a piece of bathroom sandal is tied against the thigh for the rolling process.
• UNTWISTING
  The two pieces of twisted straw are separated into two individual pieces. This process depends on the type of basket the weaver intends to weave. Untwisted straw is used for weaving double weave baskets and the twisted straw is used for single weave baskets. The round baskets are mostly done in double weave.
• SELECTION OF STRAW
  Different lengths and thickness are best used for different parts of the basket. The weaver carefully selects the appropriate straw for the different parts of the basket. The ability of the weaver to select the most appropriate straw goes a long way towards the outcome of a good basket.
• DYEING
  Different methods are used in preparing the straw for dyeing. Some wrap small amounts of twisted or untwisted straw into rings whiles others tie together large bundles. A pot of water is brought to boil and the dye is added. The straw is then submersed into the solution and pressed down by the weight of big stones. The straw is boiled for between 15 to 20 minutes. For bright colored baskets, the straw is first dyed yellow, allowed to dry and then dyed again with the preferred color. However, baskets which do not need color (natural colour baskets), the straw is not boiled.
• STARTING THE BASE
  The actual weaving process starts with the base of the basket. Several pieces of twisted straw are used in the first line-up, brought together by another straw, which looks like and octopus or spider with several legs. The leg-like strings form the the vertical ribs of the basket. The weaving is done by passing the horizontally placed straw in and out, around the ribs. For double weave baskets, there are two horizontal straws which go through the same pattern. Double weave baskets are much stronger and consume more straw than single weave baskets.
• THE RIM
  Once the body of the basket is completed, the rim is added. First, the legs are tied into a knot at the top of the basket. Next, the remaining pieces of the ribs are laid flat around the rim. If the remaining pieces are too long, they are trimmed to size. A piece of straw is used to systematically tie the ribs down into a uniform ring around the mouth of the basket. The rims are usually in the natural colour of the straw. However, there are other forms of baskets where the rim is woven flat.
• THE HANDLE
  There are several styles of handles. For round baskets, the usual handle is two-legged at both ends across the mouth of the basket, and fusing into one in the middle, serving as the hand-grip. For oval shape baskets, the handles are two, placed on opposite lengths of the basket.
• TRIMMING
  Trimming involves the cutting off the remaining ends of the straw on the body of the basket (both in and outside of the basket). If this process is not carefully done, the basket will be rough when the fingers are run over the body. Double weave baskets are easier to trim than single weave ones, hence they are nicer, stronger, more flexible and smooth.
• LEATHER HAND-GRIP
  Weavers do not add leather to the handles of the basket. It is the option of the buyer to put leather hand-grips to reinforce the handle to make it last longer, or as a form of decoration. The leather is obtained from the hide of animals from the slaughter houses. The animals are not killed just for their hide. The hide is sold out to other artisans who put it to various uses.

It takes approximately three days to complete a standard Bolga basket.