Our woven Bolga baskets from Ghana are made by a talented group of women weavers based in the Upper East Region, under the Burkina Fasso border, known as the weaving capital of Ghana.
The baskets are made with indigenous veta vera which grows abundantly in this hot, dry area. This natural raw material produces strong and structured baskets which are instantly recognisable as Ghanaian. We sell a mixture of our co-founder, Amy’s, beautiful designs and the artisans own designs.
The co-operative we have partnered with is led by Agana who works very closely with the weavers. Our co-founder, Bee, met Agana when she visited Ghana for the first time in 2018. She spent 5 days travelling around the rural, baobab filled plains with Agana and his brother Atillus (picured below), to establish a personal connection with all of the weaving groups we now work with.
Agana lives in Bolgatanga with his extended family. Like most local people he started school very late and found it hard to make a living. At 15 he learnt how to weave to support his family. Weaving is now his main source of income and he is so happy to be able to support other weavers as well.
Our designer and co-founder, Amy, visited again in 2023. Following in Bee's footsteps, Amy set to work on some new designs exclusive to AARVEN inspired by the weavers traditional patterns.
Shop our Ghanaian Woven Fans here and Ghanaian Baskets here.