HOJA: Small Pink and Blue Sisal Basket

The HOJA is a true one-off: a Pink and Blue storage basket woven by hand from hand-dyed sisal grass. This unique basket was produced by an extremely skilled female weaver in South East Kenya, working to her own design and choice of colours. There is only one of these woven baskets: once it’s gone, it’s gone. Use yours as a pretty little planter or flower pot for homing your indoor greenery, if your work space craves a splash of colour use yours for storing pens and pencils. Place your HOJA on the dressing table for keeping accessories and jewellery safe, or pop yours on the bathroom shelf for keeping toiletries tidy. The Basket Room works with a Community Based Organisation (CBO) which represents a number of women’s weaving cooperatives. All of the profits from sales - as well as any other money received from donations to the CBO - are used only to offer support to these women’s groups. Producing each unique fine weave basket is a lengthy process. Sisal grass is hand stripped using traditional wooden tools and the use of weavers’ feet, and then these stiff fibres are hand rolled on the thighs to create a string-like material. Once hand dyed in large vats of boiling water, the grass is woven using a traditional twining method. Subsistence farming is the mainstay of these weavers’ livelihoods, but with crops suffering in the dry season – and the dry seasons becoming longer and more frequent - basket weaving is a vital, income-generating craft for these women. By bringing home one of these baskets you play your own part in empowering women to financially support themselves and their families through the dry seasons. Material: SISAL Dimensions: 23cm Dia x 17cm H / 9" Dia x 6" H Please note, as this is a handmade product, dimensions & colour may vary from those shown in the photographs. HANDMADE IN KENYA