Since 2008, Swahili African Modern has worked with a group of talented Wolof weavers in remote Senegal to design hampers and baskets woven from the salvaged plastic strips and cattail stalks. First introduced by the Peace Corps, our partnership with more than 120 Wolof women shows that cooperative, home-based craft export is an excellent way for rural women to earn fair trade incomes that build healthy communities.
Among the Wolof, basket weaving is traditionally a women’s craft. Often the men from families in rural Senegalese villages work in major cities or abroad, and send money back to their families. The women supplement that income by weaving baskets. Often their children are nearby as they weave, Wolof girls beginning to learn the skill from their mothers and aunts at a young age. Wolof women take pride in their craftsmanship and ability to help provide for their families using this traditional skill.