The Baba Tree Basket Company

Bolgatanga in Ghana’s Upper East Region is synonymous with basket weaving, and the distinctive round-bellied Bolga Market basket with its sturdy handles. Building on the region’s basket weaving heritage local business The Baba Tree Basket Company is producing some stunning gravity-defying basket designs, woven from locally sourced natural materials and dyed in vibrant colours.

The company was started in 1999 by Gregory MacCarthy, a Canadian who had spent some time in Ghana studying the traditional art of drumming. Now living in Ghana Gregory partners with local baskets weavers to create Baba Tree’s colourful basket collections. The Baba Tree Basket Company is a business that adheres to the principles of fair trade. In providing a source of income for local weavers each receives 5-20% of the retail price (depending on basket type) as a commission on top of what they were initially paid for creating the basket.

“These are the people that butter our bread and must be compensated more fully for their artistry if Bolgatanga has any chance of developing.” – Gregory MacCarthy

What I especially love about Baba Tree is how each weaver is mentioned by name alongside their creations so that you get to see and know who is behind the product, unlike the nameless/faceless attributions used when referring to artisans.

And with a basket for just about every need, you’d be hard pressed not to find something that suits!

– Tapiwa Matsinde

Additional details:

For further information about The Baba Tree Basket Company visit: https://babatree.com

[Image credits: The images shown belong to Baba Tree. If downloaded and used elsewhere please credit accordingly.]