Add colour, texture, shape to your home using baskets

Baskets hold a special place in African homes. One of the many purposes they serve is traditional décor for beauty because they come in many colours which makes choices of homeowners easy.

Interior designer, Phillip Luwemba observes that baskets add a dimension of culture in spaces and also can introduce texture on walls when used as wall and ceiling decor.

He adds, “Some can be used as decorative yet wall hanging storage. In some cases, weaving for baskets can have illustrations embedded within the weave which can communicate emotions and more.”

It is easy to find baskets in many towns around Uganda. In Kampala, the local craft villages at Buganda Road and at Uganda National Cultural Centre  (UNCC) are good places to start as well as other craft retailer branches.

Social media qualifies for a good point of contact too. There, Phionah Kamwine has a good following thanks to her colourfully beautiful baskets.

When I journey to her home in Budo, on the Kampala-Masaka highway, I appreciate the creativity and work that goes into the items of interior decor.

She is part of a group of 30 women who make decorative baskets for a living.

She says that they are happy to be adding décor items to homes. Artist Nuwa Wamala Nnyanzi applauds efforts of such women who are artists in their own rights for propelling an artistry that keeps tradition alive.

Besides being beautiful wall hangings, one of the suppliers of baskets, Lillian Abako, says they can also be used as food containers to serve foods such as millet.

“In Bunyoro, we treasure baskets. You will find them hanging in homes but also get the opportunity to enjoy food served in them. If you asked, we are happy to share some traditional ideas and heritage of their usage, for example in many homes, visitors would be served coffee from baskets as a welcome gesture,” Abako explains.

Kamwine says that clients place orders with the group and many prefer to have crafted laundry baskets instead of plastic ones because they are natural, unique and beautiful.

The baskets also serve as placemats. “It shows that we do not need to spend an arm and a leg to get the decor. We can easily access the materials and are flexible to make customised items as we also showcase and promote the love for our origin and culture,” Kamwine further explains.

She adds that when marketing items from the group, she is emphatic about telling readers and followers that they make their items from raffia from Uganda.

In effect, she is happy to promote an item made from Uganda and from Ugandan raw materials.

Luwemba roots for promotion and use of locally made decor items, adding that many clients are keen on using Ugandan items to beautify their spaces as opposed to using Chinese or imported items that they can commonly find in hotels or spaces during travel expeditions. Most importantly many art pieces are not really functional but emotional, they are meant to be decorative.

He adds that baskets are preferred to be geometrically fused with artworks that showcase local or African ideas as well as weaving messages.

“Baskets can be an addition to space in terms of colour, texture and shape and a homeowner will have achieved a lot with not so much,” Luwemba further explains.

And weaving baskets is something you can do yourself. For example, Kamwine is a social worker by profession and a graduate of community psychology from Makerere University.

She leant basketry from her grandmother, as a girl. She explains that learning and thereafter, making baskets, was one of the things she always looked forward to doing during holidays in Bushenyi.

“Our grandmother made sure we had something to do such as weaving baskets, mats and things of the sort. With time, what I needed was a little practice,” she adds.

Different types of baskets help and serve different purposes. Whereas some will see a decorative purpose, others will see baskets as a place to keep clothes together. Yet, baskets can also be placed as lampshades, for children or adults’ food or weekend containers.