Walk into any home in Ankole and you are likely to find a woven basket — holding millet, covering a meal, or hanging proudly on the wall. Coiled basketry is one of the oldest crafts in our region, and it remains one of the most beautiful.
From leaf to fibre
It starts with sisal. The long, sword-like leaves are harvested, stripped and left to dry in the sun until they become pale, strong fibres. Some fibres are dyed — deep reds, golds, blues and blacks — while others are left natural.
The coil
A weaver wraps a bundle of fibre tightly and stitches it, round after round, into a spiral. Colour is introduced stitch by stitch to form triangles, zigzags and sunbursts. A medium basket can hold more than a thousand stitches.
“Every pattern has a meaning. When I weave the sunburst, I think of my grandmother who taught me.”
Caring for your basket
- Keep it away from prolonged direct sunlight to protect the colours.
- Dust with a soft, dry brush.
- If it loses shape, mist lightly with water and reshape by hand.
When you bring one of our baskets home, you are carrying forward a tradition — and supporting the women who keep it alive.
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