Large Yikene Tote - Pick of the day
Roomy, sturdy and ready for anything, the large Yikene tote is the Bolga basket that goes everywhere with you.
Woven in Ghana from tough Bolga elephant grass and finished with leather-wrapped, reinforced handles, this tote is built for real use. This is a pick-of-the-day piece: a one-of-a-kind, multicolor basket chosen from our current stock. Every tote is handmade and fairly traded, supporting the weaver directly.
Load it at the farmers market, pack it for the beach, or use it for laundry and toy storage at home. As a Ghana market basket it is a workhorse and a beautiful one at that.
You will receive one multicolor tote, each one of a kind, with basket shaping instructions and a page of information on Ghana baskets. Reshape by briefly dipping in water (keep the leather dry), shaping by hand and letting it dry.
Product Size: Approximately 16 to 18 Inches in Diameter x 11 to 13 Inches Deep
Weaving Details
Weavers collect veta vera straw, which is at the top of the grass known locally as kinkahe, leaving the grass roots in the soil to regrow. Then each piece is split in half vertically.
Each half of the split straw is then strengthened by rolling it into a tight twist.
The straw is put in bunches and dyed in boiling water. For bright colors the straw is dyed yellow first, then the color.
Weaving Bolga baskets in Ghana
For many generations, weaving has been a traditional skill of the Gurune people of northern Ghana. Mostly done by women, basket weaving and other handicrafts supplement these subsistence farmers’ incomes.
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