They leave the grass in the bucket while working in summers, but in monsoons, they just need to dip it and leave it outside, and it is still moist enough to work with. Too much moisture makes it turn yellowish. And if it is too dry, one can’t work with it as it is too brittle.
They use these baskets as kitchen storage containers as well.
Trying my hand at it!
Apart from the age old traditional designs, they are also given new designs sent to them from Bombay.
Their tools.
The dying process. Boiling the colour with the grass.
The dying process. Boiling the colour with the grass.
Dyed raw material.
The marketplace in Allahabad, where Moonj baskets are sold.
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Craft Documentation - Moonj Basketry in Allahabad
A craft document of Moonj Basketry in Naini, Allahabad.
