Basket weaving is an ancient Luo culture craft that uses naturally grown materials mostly sisal and rids ,Basket weaving is a great hobby that can add charm to your house and your own personal touch when you use the baskets you make as a gift.
MAKING BASKETS
Traditional fibers used in basketry reflect the local habitat. They include sisal leaves and fiber, raffia (African bamboo), fibrous tree and plant roots such as makenge, vines, leaves (banana and fan palm), cane, bark wood and papyrus.
Two types of vegetative fiber are normally used to make a coiled basket, one for the inner coil and one for the wrapping of the coils.
Basketry is a form of employment for many African women and elevates their status and power base within their social environments. Our plan this 2020 is to Organize workshops and institutions that help these women successfully market their product. Basketry cooperatives bring income to rural areas and keep the craft traditions alive.
African basketry is a dynamic craft, altered by social changes and shaped by both environmental and economic factors. Traditionally, shapes and weaves were determined largely by the uses for what the baskets were intended.
Given this wide dispersal of product, bright, colourful commercial dyestuffs have been applied to widen their appeal and make them ‘market-friendly, Join us to today and help Us empower Our amazing African Queens at “OKAP” ““OKAP” is a Luo word for basket, the Octopizzo Foundation is working with women in Ugenya Siaya to turn their hobby into business and turn these amazing craft women into entrepreneurs.
Our desire is to build a work station for the women by the end of 2021 and currently out sourcing partners to make this dream come true..
Till then we taking OKAP orders from all corners of the world and delivering them to your doorstep. Not only does it continue to play an integral part in modern community life but in Siaya county Rural Nyanza and most of Kenyan traditions it has evolved to a highly expressive contemporary art form that is less appropriated today.
Amazing initiative I’ve just placed my order
Nice work on the OKAP