Fair-Trade Baskets Weave Sustainable Future for African Women

Last Updated on Friday, 10 December 2010 06:20

You may have seen some people carrying their groceries in a woven basket through the Co-op, or maybe you’ve noticed the baskets hanging near the front of the store. These colorful woven creations are no ordinary market baskets; they are hand-woven by women in northern Ghana village co-ops as a source of income for their families.

Because of the region’s erratic rainfall patterns and dry seasons, many subsistence farmers have found themselves out of work. This has led the women to turn to basket weaving as a way to supplement their incomes.

Weaving has been a traditional skill of these people for years, and they both dye and weave the baskets themselves from local river grass. The baskets are then distributed by a Fair Trade supplier. They come shipped to the Co-op folded and flattened, but add a little water and the baskets can be molded into any desired shape.

GreenStar has sold the baskets for the past six years, and they’ve been a hit. The store buys them in bulk, which keeps the price down; the large size is $28.99, and the “mini” size is $14.99.

DiAnna Snyder, GreenStar’s Wellness Manager, said Genie Hurme, a Wellness staff member, suggested relocating them to the front of the store about a year ago, and the increased visibility has led to higher sales. Snyder says not only are the baskets beautiful, but they are versatile and sustainable as well.

“We love these baskets. People buy them and then shop with them here at the Co-op and it is really encouraging to see how many paper and plastic bags are saved. They also make great gift baskets,” Snyder said.

The baskets, fairly traded, made of renewable materials and woven by the women of a co-op, support several areas of GreenStar’s mission: “exercising ecological responsibility and leadership in our choice of product line;” “emphasizing and promoting … items made or distributed by other cooperatives;” and “being sensitive to the working and living conditions of those whose labor produces the goods we sell.”

The weavers’ co-op aims to assist the poor, rural women of Northern Ghana in earning decent incomes to care for their families. Proceeds from the baskets provide health care for the weavers and their families and school supplies for their children and help build community weaving centers for several villages of weavers.

“All of their goals and the ideas behind the baskets themselves are in line with what we promote here,” said Snyder. “We like to promote Fair Trade, and it’s great when the products are not only sustainable, but help women and their families, too.”