Hand Woven Black Ring Mekenge Root Wedding Baskets from Zambia, Fair Trade
In rural Zambia, a wedding basket is a Toka woman’s most useful and valuable possession. In everyday life she may choose to use it practically--to winnow grain and to collect and store harvested roots and rice, or to beautify her home by hanging it on a wall.
The beauty and durability of Zambian wedding baskets is no accident. Meticulously harvesting the roots of the Makenge bush is truly an art form of its own, and once roots are found, they are boiled until soft and colored with natural plant dyes. Only the most skilled Toka craftswomen are able to weave these baskets, and each adds one-of-a-kind patterns conveying messages of beauty, marriage, and family.
Sold singly. Because this is a handmade item, each will vary slightly.
Origin: Zambia
Size: 16-17"D x 2"T
Materials: Makenge roots, natural dye
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Member of The Fair Trade Association. Providing fair payment to workers in developing nations, educating artisans and workers to increase their potential for advancement ensuring the rights of children, developing products and processes that protect and conserve the natural environment.
Lends over 33 million pounds yearly to both producers in developing nations and the buyers who distribute their goods worldwide.
They provide business training to marginalized producers, furthering the sustainability of cooperative investments. Working with producers across Africa who value their natural environment and employ sustainable methods of production. Artisans are required to abide by local and export regulations governing the legal harvest of hardwoods to ensure compliance with U.S. import standards and to uphold proper management of their local forest resources. Artisans are encouraged to utilize materials fully by converting scraps into salable products Artisans are encouraged to utilize recycled, reclaimed and highly renewable materials in product design, and to isolate new sources of low-cost materials.
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IMPACT:
- Fair Trade
- Sustainability
- Socio-Economic
- Business Training to Marginalized Producers
- Eco-Friendly
