Our African baskets

The Baskets of Bolgatanga, Ghana, West Africa

Our baskets are made in Northern Ghana, by the indigenous people of Bolgatanga. Bolga is the craft capital of Northern Ghana, featuring a large marketplace. We source the best weavers and our baskets are weaved to order.

The baskets are handmade from elephant grass. The grass is harvested in the forests, 500km to the South and then trucked north to Bolgatanga.

The grass is dried for several days then split with the teeth into 2 strands. These strands are then twisted together to strengthen the grass.

Next the strands are boiled and dyed to give the vibrant colours you see on our finished baskets. The dyed strands are then dried in the sun.

The weaving process is next, from the base up to the rim. Then the handle. Our handles are fitted with goat leather to make the handles stronger and more comfortable. They are also connected to the body of the basket by leather to further strengthen them.

The basket is then trimmed to give the nice, smooth finish you find on our premium Bolga baskets.

It takes about 5 days to finish just 1 basket.