A Growing Pan-African Woven Movement

Tusumpulane, which means uplifting communities, currently consists of seven young women in a rural area 67km from Binga centre.  Binga is well known as one of the basket making centres in Zimbabwe, if not in all of Africa, similar to Bolgatanga!  The group offers skills transfer and development through a range of training programs and mentorship for marginalized rural women and youth in order to build their resilience and help reduce child marriage, exploitation and poverty. In addition, as a group, the artisans use their own profits to provide food to impoverished households, assist students with school fees or necessities like uniform or stationary with a particular emphasis on girls at the verge of dropping out of school.    

NGAMO CAMA Basketry weaving was founded in 2017 by five young women with the support of two “Mother Support” members.  The Mother Support members are older mothers in the community that band together to support young girls and women with their schooling and then income earning activities.  The innovative work fuses traditional weaving techniques with the use of materials like elephant and savanna grass alongside recycled plastic bags. The group, on the border of the Hwange National Park, relied heavily on tourists to the area and trade fairs in the capital to sell their baskets – both of which have been detrimentally impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic.  It is our hope that we can work with them (and you!) to share their beautiful baskets with the world.

  Dorcas founded ASIGE in 2017 to provide opportunities for women in her rural community. ASIGE is social enterprise that trains rural women to acquire sustainable skills in basketry as well as connecting them to an international market. They also believe in providing holistic opportunities to young people through mentoring, reproductive health education, and livelihood training amongst others. 

ASIGE baskets are hand woven in Ghana by 429 women artisans in Sumbrungu, Feo, Bongo, Vea, and Azimsum in the Upper East Region of Ghana. In a context where paid employment is scarce and many women work on family farms and in the home, weavers are paid well for their artful work and receive insurance and health screening cover. Dorcas’ baskets have sold globally and she has collaborated with Max Mara, Maison Sarah Lavoine and the V&A Museum in London.   

 Diana founded Rise Social to provide financial freedom to vulnerable women and enable them to send their daughters to school. One of the key achievements of the foundation is the creation of a women’s cooperative that grew from five women in 2018 to 315 members today. The cooperative produces handmade baskets and mentors other young women in basketry. It not only provides a steady income for the women weavers but also supports the foundation financially. The cooperative members receive premium prices for their baskets, allowing them to support themselves and uplift other vulnerable community members. 

In addition to basketry, Rise Social addresses key community issues through three pillars: Educational Policy, Health Policy and Community Development Projects. Rise has supported 300 children with stationery and partial school fee funding to date. In response to healthcare challenges, including high maternal and infant mortality rates, their "Health Renewal Policy" has facilitated the registration and renewal of 100 healthcare insurance cards for pregnant women, children, and vulnerable people in the Upper East Region. Additionally, recognizing the lack of clean drinking water in Bolgatanga, they opened a community hand pump borehole in June 2022, addressing the need for accessible clean water and reducing the distance residents need to travel for it.