Basket Making 1

The beautiful baskets of Rwanda....how are they made? I had the opportunity to see demonstrations by several local women. The most memorable was driving to a remote community to meet the artisans.

Most baskets are made from fibers from a plant called Umugwegwe. It is also made from grass called Ishinge. They start with a green leaf from the Umugwegwe plant. It is then sliced lengthwise into strips with a knife. The pulp is pushed from the strips with the knife until only the fibers are left. You don't get many fibers from each strip so you need to cut many leaves from your plants or purchase them!

The fibers are then washed in soap and water until they are white. Then they are hung for 30 minutes in a partly sunny location. Keeping out some to stay white, other fibers are boiled with dye that they can purchase. Boiling for 30 minutes helps the fibers hold their colors. With a needle fibers are sewn into a small spiral for the center, the beginning of every basket.

See my next entry, Basket Making 2, for the rest of the process.