Ghana

The bike baskets are handwoven from a wild grass, locally known as Elephant Grass and naturally dyed using extracts from tree bark and vegetables. Each basket is handwoven by a member of the cooperative, which consists of over 1000 weavers across 24 groups in the Northern region of Ghana. Most members are farmers, who rely on the alternative income raised through weaving during the dry seasons for basic living costs. The weavers, both male and female are trained by more experienced members and will either work from home or come to the centre to be guided. The grass is split and rolled by hand, then dyed by boiling it in water with the natural dye materials. Each bike basket can take up to 3 days to complete.