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Chilliwa Baskets

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Round Chilliwa Baskets
These are now available in 2 handy sizes (medium and large), great for lots of different functions.

Blue Round Chilliwa Baskets. Brown round cilliwa baskets.

Blue

Brown


Green.

Yellow.

Lemon Green

Yellow

Small

9.5" high, 10" diameter


(Sorry - Smalls are sold out.)

Medium

9.5" high, 11.5" diameter

$40.00

SALE PRICE: $33.00

(Sorry - only blues are available.)

Color

Large

10" high x 13.5" diameter

$50.00

SALE PRICE: $40.00

(Sorry - brown is sold out.)

Color


The Bolivians who craft these baskets live in the village of Calasaya, in the altiplano (high plateau), with a population of around 5000 (180 families). view of the altiplano from Calasaya. Many families have land and cattle, and sell milk and cheese in the local market. In the last 5 years, many families have increased their herds, and are usually able to sell enough produce to live off the proceeds. Cows are a more secure way of earning money than agriculture.

For those who don't earn money from their cattle, basket weaving is an important support for the family for health care and for education, which is viewed as being very important within the community. Most of the youths in the village complete high school, and more than 50% continue with higher education.

A good number of community members find opportunities in the workshop. Jacinto, the president (shown below left), manages all aspects of the work - product design, receiving orders, organizing the artesans, teaching new artesans, quality control, transporting the goods to La Paz, and payment. Folks can work from home to braid the straw or to sew; the rest of the process is done in Jacinto's workshop. A few people sew the baskets, while others braid the fibers together for the initial stage.
Straw purchased from local bolivian market.
pounding straw. The baskets are crafted by first buying straw in the local market (see photo right) and selecting the best, strongest straw fibers.

Then they dampen and pound the straw to make it more flexible (see photo left). The fibers are braided together - a 50 yard braid takes about 1 day to complete.

The next step is to smooth the braids and then dye them in powder dyes mixed with boiling water. Finally, the braids are smoothed flat in the sun to dry. Depending on the weather, that can take 1-3 days.
jacinto and his wife near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia - weaving chilliwa baskets.
starting a chilliwa basket. The start of most baskets is a spiral, made by sewing the braid together with strong string. (see photo left) The spiral is gradually enlarged using the same process to form the base of the basket. Then another braid is sewn together to form the sides of the basket.

To make the sets of 3 baskets shown above, it takes about 1½ days to complete, plus the time to prepare the fiber beforehand.


Set of 3 Nesting Rectangular Baskets with Ceramic Medallion Decoration
$110.00

(Sorry - out of stock)

QU:CHI-CM3
Available in Orange or Turquoise

Large: 6.25" high x 16" x 14"
Medium: 6" high x 13" x 11"
Small: 5" x 10.5" x 9" Turquoise chilliwa woven baskets from Lake Titicaca, Bolivia.

Set of 3 Chilliwa woven baskets from Lake Titicaca, Bolivia.

Basketry Section Quick Links:

Basketry Main Page

Bolivian Chilliwa
Bolivian Totora Reed

Haitian Main Page
   Banana Leaf
   Sisal
   Vetiver
   Vine, Palm, Straw

Ghana Grass
Guatemalan Maize
Kenyan Glass Bead
Nicaraguan Pine Needle
Rwandan Sisal / Banana




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Retail Shipping/Handling Charge
within the Continental US for most products

We've added expedited shipping (2-day or overnight) options at checkout. NOTE that these options are for continental US orders only - please contact us for personalized service for other delivery locations. Orders for expedited shipping must be received before 2pm EST on weekdays. Please include your phone number!
See expedited shipping rates.

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$75.01 - 99.99

$10.00


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