Handwoven basketry from Uganda

Basketry is integral to the traditional and modern everyday and ceremonial lives of western Uganda. The coiled weaving techniques are used in everyday household baskets, used to store household items, food, to shell peas, beans and other produce, as well as mats for sitting and sleeping, granaries, stools and furniture. The baskets are made primarily from millet stalks and dyed raphia leaf fibers wrapped around banana stem or papyrus leaf and stalk fibers. The dyes are made from native and domesticated plants grown in community dye gardens. The Bigodi and Rubona Weaver’s Associations are located in the Fort Portal region of western Uganda. For each basket, 90% of the sale is paid directly to the artisan, while 10% is paid into the Association coffers, which then is used to support social development. For example, funds have been used to build a new secondary school in Bigodi, and a nursery school has been started to take care of the children while women weavers are busy working on basketry.