Here on Salt Spring Island we are known as the ‘Basket Girls’. If you’ve ever visited our shop you would know exactly why...our shop is filled with beautiful handwoven baskets.
Most of the BASKETS in our store are made in Bolgatanga, GHANA, by men and women of the Gurunsi tribe, also known as the Fra Fra people. These baskets are woven from straw from a type of ‘veta vera’ grass, commonly referred to as "elephant grass".
The making of one single basket is an extensive process. It stretches from selecting, preparing and dying the straw to the weaving process that can take up from 2 to 5 days. For example, it takes about 25,000 knots to weave a finely woven 16" round basket.
The baskets that have handles are reinforced with leather made from goat hide. The leather adds a lot of strength to the basket handles. The strength in these baskets make it ideal as market baskets.
Our baskets are biodegradable, comes in various shapes and sizes, have many different purposes and are of the highest quality. You can use them as a shopping basket, picnic basket, laundry basket, a place for your newspapers and magazines, for collecting eggs and harvesting in your garden. Or simply as an amazing work of art in your living or bedroom.
At MONDO we have been selling these baskets since we opened our store six years ago and we are proud to make a difference in the lives of so many women and men in Bolgatanga.
So when you buy one of these special baskets...
your purchase not only contributes to a sustainable income for these weavers in Ghana but...provides you with a "GENUINE PIECE OF ART"!