UGANDAN BASKETS

I admire attractive, handmade craft items, such as these baskets that are made by a women’s group in the Fort Portal region of Uganda. The women generally work from home but come together in groups for marketing and to help each other.  The groups often include the disabled and widows.  The sales enable the women to support themselves financially. There are a selection for sale in the One Craft Gallery at the moment.

Traditionally, in Uganda, baskets were woven for home use using discarded millet stalks but in recent years the women have been encouraged to develop their skills and become more experimental.  Now the basket weavers use a variety of materials ranging from banana stalks, raffia (from a type of palm leaf) and papyrus grasses. The women colour the materials using vibrant natural dyes which are made with the flowers and grasses they grow and the lichens, leaves and roots they collect.