These practical baskets are made out of sisal which is grown either on farms belonging to the basket weavers, or else purchased from the nearby sisal estate. Sisal is an exceptionally durable and strong material, and grows well in harsh Kenyan climates.

**HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR BASKET**
Sisal is famous for being an extremely strong and hardy material; it is resilient even to salt water! However, care should be taken when exposing your basket to full sunlight, since this will cause the colours to fade. Whilst a splash of water will not harm these baskets, drying your basket out if it is made wet is recommended. Sisal is a natural product, and if it remains damp for a long period it can go mouldy. If you use your basket as a plant pot therefore, lining it with a water proof bag is advisable.

**ABOUT THE LADIES**
Weaving baskets is a tradition in Taita culture. Hadithi baskets are made by Basket Weaver Women’s Groups in the rural villages between Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks. Most groups meet every two weeks to weave baskets together, and continue weaving in the meantime at home, on the bus or whilst walking to their neighbours. Hadithi started working with 350 weavers in 2013, and has expanded by 2019 to over 1000 weavers in the area. We visit each group every two months and purchase the baskets on the spot. These meetings are also a great opportunity to chat with the groups and discover some of their needs.

**WHAT MAKES IT A PRACTICAL BASKET?**
Practical baskets are made of medium thick twine (the fineweave baskets are made of a lot thinner twine).
Consequently, the baskets are more heavy and strong, and have less knots density per square inch than their fineweave counterparts of the same size.
Thanks to a tight weave and a slightly chunkier twine, these baskets are sturdier and keep their shape better, ideal for home use.

Hadithi crafts_practical sisal basket_tsavo sunrise.jpeg

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From sisal plant to basket…

These practical baskets are made out of sisal which is grown either on farms belonging to the basket weavers, or else purchased from sisal estate nearby. The leaves of the sisal plant are used to obtain a fibre which is rolled to twine, and then be woven to a basket.

The weavers from the Kasigau Weaver’s Group dye the fibres themselves and then roll the twine on their lap. Making baskets is a very labour intensive art. The baskets come in a number of different colours and patterns, with each design entirely made up by these artistic Taita ladies!

The basket weaving process is explained step by step in the photogallery below.

1. The Sisal Plant

The weaver ladies either grow sisal plants (Agave Sisalana, Mexican origin) on their farms or else buy sisal fibres from the sisal estates in Mwatate. Sisal is an exceptionally durable and strong material, and grows well in harsh Kenyan climates. No pesticides nor chemical fertilizers are needed in sisal agriculture.

2. Down to Fibres

The sisal leaves are decorticated (process by which outer parts of the plant are removed) until only the fibres remain. These fibres are typically 0.5 to 1 m long.

Stiff sisal fibre is used to make a vast array of products, everything from twine, rope, dartboards, cat scratching posts, lumbar support belts, rugs, slippers, cloths, disc buffers… and of course baskets!

Though in Kenya traditionally Sanseveria and baobab fibres have been used for basket weaving, now the ladies rely on sisal because of its suitability and vast availability.

3. Dyeing & Drying

The sisal fibres are coloured by adding them to the desired dye and bringing them up to the boil. They are then left out in the shade to dry.

Traditionally ladies have used natural colorants like certain tree bark or soil to create earthen shades of black, brown, grey and pale pinks and yellows. Textile dyes are now broadly being used in order to obtain bright colours.

4. Rolling the Twine

Using sisal fibres, the ladies have to roll it to produce twine. This requires amazing skill since it necessitates the women to roll, upon their bare legs, consistent amounts of sisal fibres into each other to obtain a good quality twine that has the same thickness all over. This is probably the most time consuming element of the entire basket making process.

5. Ready, Steady, Weave!

Finally only once the lady has enough twine in the colour she wants, can begin weaving her basket. The weaving starts at the centre of the bottom of the basket.

6. Halfway

Here you see Teresia Mulinga, a member of the Kisimenyi basket weaver group, weaving one of her many baskets. Though you may wonder how long it takes for her to weave a single basket, in fact this is not a simple question to answer. Not even Teresia herself can provide a precise estimate because of the vast number of variables it depends upon, for example how thin you roll the twine, how complicated the design, and how much time Teresia has between her daily tasks as a mother, a farmer, a wife, a community member…

7. Ready

Teresia shows off her work – she will make just a single basket in this beautiful design…next time she will try out a different one – but it will be equally as beautiful!

PHOTO GALLERY

Take a closer look at some practical sisal baskets below. These are examples to show the wonderful variety of baskets made by the weavers; no two are the same!

Practical sisal baskets

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From sisal plant to basket…

PHOTO GALLERY