Africa-Press – Botswana. Basket weaving has afforded 52 year old, Ms Lebuegile Moreotsile of Shorobe a life free of poverty.
The mother of four children is now able to fend for herself and her family from the income she makes selling baskets and other crafts to tourists visiting the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve.
Her unique baskets made of mokolwane palm tree leaves and barks (makwati), come in different sizes and patterns. “Basket weaving has saved my life. I started taking it seriously in 2019 after losing both my parents.
Before then, my life was hard. I believe in God and did not lose hope because I inherited basket making skills from late mother,” said Ms Moreotsile in an interview. She recalled that her mother was one of the renowned women with unrivaled skills in basketry and so, she used to sit around her to learn the skill.
Her patience paid off because she is now earning an income and has managed to build a decent house for her family with proceeds from basket sales. When she started the business, she said she had no idea how that would change her life and not only had it benefitted her financially, the craft ignited a dream she had as a child.
The energetic and vibrant Ms Moreotsile is pleased that she did not let her mother’s legacy in basket weaving vanish and was now doing her best to pass the knowledge and skills to her daughters who always assist on weekends.
She reckoned young women undermined the business and said nothing would be given to them on a silver platter. So, every morning Ms Moreotsile takes her craft to go sit underneath a big tree along Maun/Shorobe road into the delta and game reserve, targeting tourists en route to the delta to appreciate the abundant flora and fauna. Ms Moreotsile also enjoys support from members of Church of God in Shorobe and appreciates the church pastor for marketing her products abroad.
Although, Ms Moreotsile stated that making baskets was time consuming and not an easy task, she explained that the shape of a basket varied according to its function. For a basket to end up with various colours, she said the material harnessed from the palm tree was pounded, soaked and mixed with dyes. Ms Moreotsile also sells wood for braai and home-made jewelry, to expand her products.
She challenged women to explore opportunities that could afford them decent lives end poverty because opportunities for formal employment were limited. Basket weaving, she said was part of tradition in Ngamiland region and believed that they could utilize the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty among families.
“Basket weaving business is very profitable and easy to tap into I am hopeful that if many of us could engage in it, we can consider establishing a central market point where we can display our products,” she added.
Botswana baskets are considered some of the finest in Africa due to their high quality, outstanding workmanship and originality which have gained them international recognition.
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