We've recently displayed these beautiful baskets in our retail store, and they have been a winner with our employees and customers alike. Handmade in the historic town of Bolgatanga, located in northern Ghana, West Africa, they are truly works of art. Weavers in Bolgatanga have been crafting these baskets for generations, utilizing an age-old tradition to supplement their farming incomes, which are often irregular due to infertile soil and erratic rainfall. Whenever we handle the Bolga baskets, we marvel at the quality and artistry of each one. Veta vera grass, or "elephant grass", is dried, each fiber rolled, some dyed with plant-derived dye, and carefully woven to produce an extremely lightweight, yet durable basket. Goat-hide leather pads the handles, making the baskets comfortable to carry. "I use it for everything, and it's nearly impossible to overload it," said one Bolga basket owner. While the purchase of a Bolga basket aids a community in West Africa, Bolga baskets are an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags for shopping, plastic buckets for gardening and yard work, and wooden containers for holding towels, magazines, toys, or fruit. Elephant grass is an easily renewable resource, and the goat hides used for the handles are saved during the butchering of goats for food. Each basket comes with information on the cleaning and care of your basket. Occasional wetting, re-shaping, and drying helps your basket last for years to come! Because each is unique, we've listed them individually.
**Our inventory of Bolga baskets changes constantly (that's why they are so unique!). Use the selectors to search; as you select type, weave, etc., the baskets in inventory that fit your selection will show. You can use the selectors in any order.