How Bolga Baskets Are Made, Step by Step
Inside the weaving of a Bolga basket: harvesting elephant grass, splitting and dyeing it, coiling the base and finishing the handle by hand in northern Ghana.
By Sandra Simi ·
Every Bolga basket starts in the grasslands around Bolgatanga in northern Ghana, where elephant grass grows tall through the rainy season. What arrives in our Dayton store months later has passed through a single pair of hands from start to finish.
Harvesting and preparing the grass
The grass is cut, dried in the sun, then rolled and split lengthways so each strand twists into a tight cord. Dyeing happens before weaving, which is why colour runs all the way through a strand rather than sitting on the surface.
Weaving the base and the walls
A weaver begins at the centre of the base and works outward in a spiral, tightening as the walls rise. A medium market basket takes most of a working day; a large lidded piece can take three.
Finishing the rim and handle
The handle is wrapped in leather or in additional grass and bound to the rim. Because tension is judged by hand, no two baskets share the exact same shape — a mark of authenticity, not a flaw.