LAZIMA: Turquoise Colour Block Woven Basket
Description
Bring a splash of Kenyan colour to any corner of the home with our turquoise and natural colour blocked baskets, hand woven in three different sizes. Our LAZIMA baskets are produced by an extremely skilled weaving cooperative in South Western Kenya and can be used all over the home as fruit baskets and desk tidies, nursery storage, large planters and flower pots.
We keep this highly skilled collective busy with regular orders for this collection of baskets, so sisal grass is sourced ready-rolled when the group received order from us. This local grass is hand-dyed in large vats under the supervision of a dye manager, and hung out to dry before the weaving begins. Basket weaving is a complex skill that most weavers have practiced from a young age, having been taught by female elders in the family.
Buying our baskets empowers women. We are dedicated to the progress of fair trade and our work with cooperatives helps these women to support themselves and their families through flexible and fairly-paid work: work which can be done here and there, around farming work and family responsibilities. Each woven basket comes with a thank you card from the weaving cooperative, and you can meet the weavers HERE.
Material: SISAL & BRANDED LEATHER TAB
Dimensions:
XS: 14-16CM DIA x 9.5-10.50CM H
SMALL: 19-21CM DIA x 14.5-15.5CM H
MEDIUM: 23-27CM DIA x 19-21CM H
If you need a specific size please let us know prior to placing your order.
Please note, due to the handmade nature of the basket, the tone of colour may vary to that shown in the photograph.
HANDMADE IN KENYA
Our journey into sustainable style began in Kenya, and the lion’s share of our woven baskets are Kenyan-made. Whilst every region of Kenya boasts its own rich natural bounty, each cooperative we partner with offers expertise in its own unique form of basketry. Weaving, dyeing and grass-rolling techniques differ across the regions as much as basket shapes, patterns and structures. These precious crafts are woven through the generations within families - passed along continuous thread from mother to daughter - protecting and preserving an art form as old as man.
Vast and colourful, vibrant and bursting with natural beauty and style, our fair trade baskets are as eclectic as their homeland and its people. From sisal grass to doum palm, banana leaf fibres to palm leaf, each weaving cooperative works with what is locally available and only what can be sustainably sourced, to produce beautiful baskets which are 100% Kenyan made, and ethically produced. All cow hide bag tags, straps, and basket labels are made from leather sourced as a by-product of the food industry. Natural dyes come from pounded roots, bark and vegetables of the region, whilst all synthetic dyes are sustainably sourced.
From the Kamba tribe to the camel-herding Ariaal pastoralists of Northern Kenya, you can read more about the lives of the Kenyan weavers we work with - and the wonderful baskets they produce - below.
