The Art of Basket Weaving – An Unravelling Nigeria Adventure

The goal of the class was to weave a basket – or at least learn the techniques to be able to do so but by the end of it, all I had was a coaster and a new appreciation for this basket weaving craft.

Lekki Arts and Craft MarketWhen I first saw the flyer for this experience by Unravelling Nigeria, I knew it wasn’t one I wanted to miss out on. If you have followed this blog long enough, you’ll have read a number of articles about the adventures I have taken with them.

From camping at Omo Forest Reserve to hiking in Oke-Ado, Idanre, and Owa-Onire, they have taken me to some really exciting places and every year, they organize a specially curated cultural trip around some of the oldest forms of crafts in Nigeria. Last year, I attended a session on palm wine tapping in Epe and the year before that, we went to Dada Pottery in Kwara State to learn the art of pottery making. Both trips were very insightful, so naturally, I was looking forward to this one.

Kwara_Dada Pottery
The venue for our class was a lovely spot on the terrace at Casa Nomads – a beautiful Airbnb apartment that just opened up in the Lekki area.

On arrival, our host welcomed us with our very own (already made) baskets and then proceeded to introduce our instructor who began the workshop shortly afterward.

weaving Casa NomadsThe art of basket weavingThe first step to weaving a basket is getting the materials in the right conditions and getting the base right. Once the base is done, weaving gets easier from there.

Weaving Karen weaving InstructorThe Art of Basket WeavingWe worked on our baskets for a while – or let me speak for myself. I worked on mine for a few hours before finally deciding that all I really wanted to make from the beginning was a tiny coaster. Meanwhile, in the time it took me to make that coaster, our instructor had gone halfway through a basket, despite several pauses to get everyone on track!

weaving ankaraMy fingers were numb by the end of the day but I was glad for the lessons I had learned and the next time I’m getting one of these bags from the Lekki Arts and Crafts Market, I’ll certainly be more lenient while bargaining!

The Art of Basket Weaving

PS: I have to say though,  that in writing this article, I did a little research about weaving techniques around the world. I was surprised to see that while the techniques remained the same, the tools used in some of the videos I saw were simpler and easier to work with.

It made me wonder, at what point is it necessary to substitute traditional methods with modern ones, especially when the results are the same? Are we selling out by doing this? Or is this something we should embrace?

I’d love to hear your thoughts…

4 comments

  1. Mordern craft methods may take the jobs from the local community and will be creating an economic gap.

    1. I agree, like most sectors. There’s still a market for the local community for now though and I think it might stay that way for a while.

  2. Aaaw, well done for your coaster! But those bags look amazing! Once they hit the UK, they will be selling for £50 and up! In terms of swapping traditional methods for modern, I am for it as long as it does not put people out of a job.

    Madeline
    http://www.madelinewilsonojo.com

    1. Yes, I agree. The videos I saw using the ‘modern’ techniques still involved hand-making the bags and baskets, which was good. I got an extra bag for less than £2! Now I want to travel to the UK and resell it! haha

I love to hear from you, Leave a comment here!

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---⁣
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1. 🐦 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 (𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞!)⁣
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2. 🏨 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭⁣
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⁣
3. 🚆 𝐆𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨, 𝐊𝐲𝐨𝐭𝐨 & 𝐎𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐚⁣
They’re iconic, yes and you should certainly visit. But if you're looking for places with fewer people, you need to venture outside these cities.⁣
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4. 🛕 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐩 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 ⁣
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5. ❄️ 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐭? 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫
An underrated time to visit, so you can expect fewer people.⁣
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6. 🚴‍♀️ 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞⁣
Hike the Kumano Kodo, walk the Nakasendo Trail, or cycle the Shimanami Kaido. It’s serenity + scenery 💯⁣
---⁣
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📍Save this for your trip planning⁣
📸 Share with someone dreaming of Japan⁣
👇🏾Got questions? Drop them in the comments!⁣
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Happy travels 🇯🇵✨
𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡? Why not?! Without the crowds? Absolutely! 🌸🌱⁣ ⁣ I've now been to Japan in 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 – the Hakone Torii is from my fall trip – and I’ve had amazing crowd-free experiences in both seasons! 🍂🌸⁣ ⁣ Yes, I woke up early to visit some places, but I also found places that were calm even in the middle of the day, including in cities like Shizuoka and Nagoya, not just rural Japan. 👀⁣ ⁣ ✨ Here are my go-to tips to explore Japan without the crowds:⁣ ---⁣ ⁣ 1. 🐦 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 (𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞!)⁣ Mornings and evenings are your best friend. Cooler, quieter, and often more beautiful.⁣ ⁣ 2. 🏨 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭⁣ Instead of day-tripping, book a stay. I did this in Hakone and around Fuji. Result? No lines. No crowds. Pure magic! 🌤✨️⁣ ⁣ 3. 🚆 𝐆𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨, 𝐊𝐲𝐨𝐭𝐨 & 𝐎𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐚⁣ They’re iconic, yes and you should certainly visit. But if you're looking for places with fewer people, you need to venture outside these cities.⁣ ⁣ 4. 🛕 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐩 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 ⁣ I haven't been to Kinkaku-ji Temple yet. Why? It opens 'late' and is often packed. I think I'll get to it one day though 🥰⁣ ⁣ 5. ❄️ 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐭? 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 An underrated time to visit, so you can expect fewer people.⁣ ⁣ 6. 🚴‍♀️ 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞⁣ Hike the Kumano Kodo, walk the Nakasendo Trail, or cycle the Shimanami Kaido. It’s serenity + scenery 💯⁣ ---⁣ ⁣ 📍Save this for your trip planning⁣ 📸 Share with someone dreaming of Japan⁣ 👇🏾Got questions? Drop them in the comments!⁣ ⁣ Happy travels 🇯🇵✨
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