Makenge Wedding Basket, Fair Trade Handwoven in Zambia, Africa, 3 Options

In rural Zambia near Victoria Falls, a wedding basket is a 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 craftswomen are able to weave these baskets, and each adds one-of-a-kind patterns conveying messages of beauty, marriage and family.

Sold singly in assorted colors and patterns. Because this is a handmade item, each will vary slightly.

Dimensions: 16-17"L x 16-17"W x 2"H
Crafted from: Makenge roots, natural dye
Made in: Zambia

We believe that hardworking African artisans, producers, and export agents hold the key to their own personal success and that the path to success requires a steady, committed pace. We can extend each artisan's channel of trades from local markets to the global marketplace, all the while providing them with options to work from the comfort of their own homes and communities. Secure in the knowledge that the fair payment they receive will not be reduced by traveling expenses, childcare costs, and haggled prices, most artisans in the network promote their family's future by using earnings to put food on the table and pay educational expenses for their children.

Fair Trade Federation, a group of like-minded companies and organizations that adhere to:
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
promoting fair trade as the standard in commercial exchanges