$325
In stock
A rounded crimson basket with soft curves, completed in all one rich color with no other decorations. The simplicity of this basket makes the stitching stand out. This werregue basket is woven in the traditional thicker coils and has a pleasant heavy, weighted feel and a flat base.
9″ W x 6″ H
Free US shipping on all orders.
In stock
Supporting the Wounaan community in Colombia is opening the doors to a team of artisan women displaced by violence who, with resilience and work, fight daily to get their families ahead. Their constant struggle to preserve the tradition of their people in exile is an example of permanence and refusal to disappear.
The sale of werregue woven art is a primary source of income for the Wounaan, and has become one of the most important factors in maintaining their culture. For many years they have been threatened with violence and displacement due to internal conflict between the Colombian armed forces, leftist guerrilla groups, and right-wing paramilitary forces. Religious interference, as well as their contact with outside people, have also affected their culture and customs.
Stitched over many months and years from natural palm fibers and organic dyes, your handmade woven art should be displayed proudly, away from any windows and skylights. The ultra-violet rays of direct sun and strong light can cause the saturated natural dyes in textile and fiber art to fade, and can even damage the fibers themselves.
If your woven art resides with you in the desert or other dry environments, you may feel better occasionally misting it (as often done to wicker or rattan) inside with distilled or non-chlorinated tap water. Using a paper towel, gently pat any excess moisture from the interior.
In Wounmeu, the language of the Wounaan, there is a special name for fine traditional coil-construction palm-fiber baskets: hösig di. Expert weavers stitch silk-fine strands of the black palm they call chunga or werregue, richly colored with vegetal dyes, over coils of naguala palm.
The newest, softest green palm fronds are shredded by hand, extracting the internal fibers as thin as thread. After drying in the sun, these fibers are dyed in mixtures created using roots, berries and seed pods, all-naturally sourced vegetal colors.
Werregue is so closely linked to Wounaan tradition and daily life that, when it comes to the creation of Hösig Di (the Wounmeu term for their fine baskets), each basket is believed to begin with an inherent spiritual quality. Further to this point, the women who weave them are often called “spirit weavers”. Learn more about how Rainforest Baskets art is created.
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