Bolga Basket Information

Bio Sketch of Master Weaver Baba Atule Ibrahim

Mr. Baba Atule Ibrahim was born on the 5th of October 1967 and is a Ghanaian
born and raised in Zaare a suburb of Bolgatanga, in the upper east region.

Not having enough land to use for farming, his parents and grandparents
resorted to full time basket weaving as a main way of making a living.  This
resulted in them becoming "Master weavers", the best in Zaare.  This explains
why Baba Atule grew up to become a Master Basket weaver himself.

As a Master Basket Weaver under the sponsorship of a Non Government
Organization (NGO)Bolga and Bongo District Assemble, Baba Atule continues
to teach and train basket weaving to the people in the village areas who have no
opportunity to develop to develop other skills or trades.  Learning basket weaving
as a trade will allow women in the village to be able to provide monetary,
educational, and health support for their families.

Mr. Baba Atule Ibrahim developed the BIA Basket Weaving Group to attain
the following goals:

          a. To unite the weavers
          b. To raise the standard of living
          c. To increase production
          d. To improve the quality of the Bolga Basket
          e. To explore and capture the internaltional export market
          f. To supply the market with an artistic interpretation of African Culture
              through the Ghanaian Bolga Baskets

Care of your Bolga Basket

If your basket has lost its shape, you may soak it and reshape it in order to
give it the desired shape.

Why are there Bolga Baskets at The Clarkston Farmers' Market?

In the spring of 2005, before the market opened for the very first time, we
discovered the story of these handcrafted baskets.  Because our market is a
non-profit run by volunteers, and our vendor fee is kept low, we realized that we
needed some way to fund the market so that it could sustain itself.  Insurance and
advertising are just two of the costs involved in running a farmers' market.
When we found Baba's story and realized that we could enrich our market by selling
his baskets, as well as help his village, we knew we had discovered something
special.  The Clarkston Farmers' Market is proud to display and sell these baskets
knowing that in addition to the donations received, the baskets sales make the
market possible.  It is our wish that we can continue to bring local growers into
the area and know that in the selling of these beautiful pieces, people across the
globe are directly benefiting.  Baskets are available in the off-season by calling the
market phone at (248) 821-4769.

Thank you for supporting the Clarkston Famers' Market!