Handmade Huacal Basket

Handmade Huacal Basket

Dimensions and coloring will vary a little since these are handmade

Width: 20in

Height: 12 in

Strap length:16.5in

This particular design was originally made to carry babies with the strap over the forehead of the carrier.

These pieces are completely organic and are handmade from wood and tree bark from the jonote tree. They gather the material in the local forest, about a 2 hour walk (each way) from their home, and do so in a respectful, sustainable manner. The bark is stripped by hand, and the wood and tree bark are soaked in water to clean it. After that, the bark is stripped into pieces, and dried. The frames are made from the stripped wood, which they clean by hand with knives.

The brand Hencho collaborates with a democratic collective of seven artisan women on these pieces. They formed the group in the 1980s, however only one of the original members remains. Ages of the women in the group range from 20s to 70s, and they split our orders evenly between the members. Everyone in the group pays a small percentage into a fund that they keep in order to rent the building that they use as their group workshop, and also to cover small expenses, where needed. That said, the women work on their pieces at home, at their own pace.