Sisal Placemat | Agaseke

$35.00

Handmade by Ange Muhorakeye, this placemat features an asymmetrical graphic pattern with white, natural, and coral. In addition to making useful tabletop placemats, it can also be used for hung wall art.

Measurements: Approximately 10″ across x .25″ deep.

Each basket is hand woven with dyed sisal wrapped around fragrant sweetgrass. The sweet grass is used in its natural dried state. The sisal and sweet grass plants are grown by women in Rwanda, harvested, the fibers extracted and then the sisal is hand dyed.

Basket weaving is an age-old pastime in Rwanda. In the evening, women and girls traditionally gather and weave baskets. This activity bonded neighbors and family members across generations. Stories are shared and young girls are taught how to weave at the knee of their mother or grandmother.

The practice of basket weaving was passed down from mother to daughter, from generation to generation, and symbolizing a rite of passage into womanhood. Many of the basket patterns of today, are the same patterns that have been taught and passed on for generations.

2 in stock

Ange Muhorakeye
South Portland, Maine

Ange has memories from a very early age of sitting near her (grandmother), with a circle of women and as a form of play, began modeling the women weaving baskets. Born in a refugee camp in Burundi and later moving back to her family’s country of origin, Rwanda, she continued to learn the art of basket weaving from both her nyogokuru (grandmother) and  mama (mother). Five years ago, Ange made the decision to leave Rwanda and move to the United States. At the airport in Rwanda, Ange’s mother passed to her a package of grasses with a needle and thread, and sent her off with the parting words of

“Do not forget our culture.”

When Ange first arrived in the United States and was waiting to get documented so that she could work, she unpacked the grasses and began weaving baskets…. mostly out of boredom. Ange always thought of the baskets rather commonplace, nothing special… something the women of a village did. The baskets had an everyday usefulness.

The first baskets Ange wove in the U.S., she gifted to new friends or used to decorate her new home. Soon people asked her to make baskets for them and then others suggested that she should sell her baskets. Prior to COVID, Ange and another friend attended a few craft fairs where her baskets were well received. It wasn’t until Ange saw the baskets through the eyes of her new friends and acquaintances in the U.S., that her own view of the baskets changed. She began to appreciate them more and see the beauty in the woven patterns and baskets.

“I create baskets and earrings made of sisal plants and sweet grass using a needle. Whenever I am free, I design each piece with gentleness, skill, and love to achieve special and unique creations. I use half of the sales proceeds to support women and their children from my country to sustain themselves and fight poverty.”

Shipping Measurements

Weight 3 lbs
Dimensions 17 × 17 × 6 in