Basket Weaving

Last autumn I took a basket making course, every sunday over 5 weeks. It's something I've always wanted to try, it was a great distraction from everyday life and it was very satisfying to finish the course with something I had made in my hands. Come to think of it, that's what started me on the whole cushion making thing: I hadn't done anything like it for a long time and I wanted more!

Where I live, in Central Italy, we are still not far removed from the times when craft was a matter of practical life, as opposed to a passtime. Gianni, our teacher, makes baskets and sells them at local markets, people use them bacause they are still the most practical thing: they're light and let air circulate, protecting your fruit or mushrooms or whatever is inside.

Gianni told a story about a time when he was walking along a river bed with his father. They came accross a tomato plant growing wild, full of ripe tomatoes. They had nothing to put them in so his father promptly got to work making a basket.

Nyaka Grandmothers

Many of us enjoy crafting as a hobby, or a source of a little extra income, a few make it a full time job. For many of us it is a cosy and fun little world which provides a little distraction.

A little while ago I came across an Etsy shop offering something a little different, baskets made by grandmothers in Uganda who use the vital income generated to care for their grandchildren, left orphans by the AIDS virus.

These children are extremely vulnerable to poverty, and the Nyaka project offers educationfor the children as well as income generation schemes for the grandmothers, their carers.

If you want to get involved you can buy one of their fabulous baskets in their Etsy shop, NyakaGrandmotherShop or how about hosting a basket party? They'll send you everything you need, here's what they say on their website:
"When you host a Basket Party, you become part of a growing circle of people who are helping impoverished Ugandan women rise out of poverty. By partnering with Ugandan women a world away, you are truly helping them achieve a better future. On behalf of the Ugandan Grandmothers and orphans living in extreme poverty, thank you for taking action!"


To find out more, visit the Nyaka Project website, or their Facebook page.