TARKWA: Green & Black Square Storage Basket
Our smart Tarkwa square storage baskets sport green and black against a natural undyed grass base. These stylish and robust storage baskets are hand woven in Northern Ghana and look superb all over the home.
Bring a little order to the living room and use yours for stacking kindling or magazines. They are the perfect fit for popular cube storage shelving! In the bathroom, use your Tarkwa baskets for storing toiletries, towels and loo rolls. Mix & match with our other square designs!
Each woven storage basket takes up to three days to complete, and is made from an indigenous Ghanaian grass called veta vera. The process is time-consuming: before weaving can begin the grass must be collected and split by hand, then hand-rolled and dyed. Only then can a weaver from our partner weaving cooperative begin her skilful work. These one of a kind baskets are handmade by the most talented weaving groups in Ghana, the weavers have complete creative freedom resulting in exquisite designs that are only ever made once.
Most of the weavers in the Northern Ghana cooperative are agricultural workers, though relying on a season’s rainfall for income makes for unstable living. Basket weaving – one of the oldest crafts known to man – has become a source of alternative income for these communities, particularly in the dry seasons. This additional channel of work helps families to meet their basic living costs. To purchase one of our woven baskets is to become an important part of our journey: supporting the weavers in a truly fair and sustainable trade. Every woven basket comes with a thank you card from the co-operative that made yours. You can meet the weavers from Ghana HERE.
Material: VETA VERA GRASS
Dimensions: 30-35W x 30H cm
As each basket is individually handmade, some variation in size and colour may occur. If your basket gets wet, simply leave it to dry naturally and re-shape.
HANDMADE IN GHANA
Our Ghanaian woven baskets are a celebration of Northern Ghana’s abundant natural raw material, and the age-old weaving skills of its people: sustainable style and ethical production, through and through. In our ongoing commitment to fair trade, our baskets are produced from natural materials indigenous to the region they are woven in.
Home of the hardy veta vera grass, Ghana is where our collections of sturdier, stiffer baskets are made: woven bike baskets, square, rectangular and circular storage baskets, bolga shopping baskets, dog baskets and baby Moses baskets. Where Kenyan sisal grass creates supple and pliable baskets and bags, Ghanaian veta vera grass produces more structured baskets.We partner with 24 weaving cooperatives and over 1000 weavers in Ghana, both male and female. This portable and flexible craft means that weavers can take their work home with them if preferred, completing their weaving around other household tasks and duties to create truly fair trade baskets. Bicycle baskets and storage baskets generally take around three days to complete, and the process – as you will see from the pictures – is meticulous.
"We wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to the customers who buy our baskets, which create employment for our women in Ghana. We say thank you and we wish to continue to do business with you next year." - Asabila, Cooperative Manager – Ghana
Shop the Log Basket Collection here.
Shop the Art Basket Collection here.
Shop the Bike Basket collection here.
Shop the Square, Rectangular and Circular Floor Storage Basket collection here.
Shop the Moses Basket Collection here.
Shop the Bolga Shopping Basket collection here.
Shop the Dog Basket collection here.
