WomenCraft Basket Weaving to Make Lives Better

Craft has often been used as a tool for unity, healing and empowerment, harnessing the traditional skills of local communities to make lives better. Doing just that is WomenCraft, a social enterprise that empowers over 600 women artisans from Tanzania and Burundi to earn a living from their craft skills

Based in Tanzania the WomenCraft story is one of hope and resilience. The tri-border areas of Tanzania and Burundi once saw great conflict resulting in refugees- people having to start their lives over in new, unfamiliar places. The organisation was founded in 2007 to assist and foster harmony between the refugees and the local communities that hosted them.

Basket weaving is a skill that many of the women have and served as a starting point for the product collections. Using traditional techniques and modern design aesthetics WomenCrafts’s artisans weave products that include bowls, storage baskets, and wall decor. The products are woven from natural locally-sourced grasses, using threads from fabrics, and upcycling grain sacks to provide contrasting decorative details and patterns in a range of natural and bright colours.