Woven wicker basket

Raw willow grown and cut in France, soaked for several days before being worked, then woven by hand onto a wooden base. No varnish, no dye: the colour is that of the bark, and it darkens gently over the years.

Around 40 cm long, 28 cm wide and 24 cm high, with a fixed handle tall enough to carry over the arm. The basket takes ten kilos of shopping without complaint. It asks for only two things: to be kept out of the rain, and once a year a little water so the willow does not dry out to the point of cracking.

Every basket comes from the workshop of a partner basket-maker, the last in his village to practise the craft. The association buys his output at the price he sets, without haggling it down, and puts its margin back into fieldwork. This is an object built to last thirty years, not one season.