Handwoven Plateau Baskets & Trays-Traditional Zambian Baskets-Fair Trade- Zambia

We work with One World Projects who in turn, works with Choma Museum and Crafts Centre Trust Ltd (CMCC), in Choma, in the center of the Southern Province of Zambia, Africa.

The crafts divisions of the CMCC are associated with about 450 crafts makers, primarily women (400) who are subsistence farmers who derive badly needed cash income from their crafts making. The CMCC seeks to promote Zambian crafts and culture by assisting in marketing, skill development and local organization of producers. The skill development is based on traditional techniques, materials, and design.

Plateau Baskets are made on the Plateau districts by Tonga women living on the highlands of the Southern Province of Zambia. The development of this basket during the past 25 years has been spectacular. It is the major single craft of the province and is exported all over the world.

Basket Weaving from Natural Fibers

Basket making is the main economic craft of the province, so domestic cultivation of the Malala Palm tree is promoted. Women are the main beneficiaries of basket-weaving income.

The traditional Tonga basket has a square woven base and a wide round rim at the top. The bottom strips or twigs extend radially into the walls of the basket and palm leaf strips are then woven into it. The pale strips may be dyed black to allow for woven patterning. Patterns are also made by variations in weaving, by leaving the dark radials exposed or by covering them. The basket is then completed by weaving in a round rim.