Sitting under a large mango tree while weaving a basket of his latest design, Mr Alfred explains that he learned his trade as a basket weaver from his mother when he was still in primary school but only recently realised he could make money from this skill. He has been a farmer his whole life and as he felt himself getting older he realised he needed to establish a trade to support himself. He has been making beautifully crafted baskets for over 55 years and until four years ago he only ever wove baskets as gifts for friends and relatives. Initially he didn’t have hope that he could sell his baskets at all but he is happy to say that business is going well and his sales are increasing.
Mr Alfred was among one of the first recipients of an ATE grant and for him 30 Ghc was a lot of money to buy materials to kick-start his business.To make his baskets, Alfred peels stalks from guinea corn and buys dye, threads and leather. The more expensive baskets to make, which have a drawstring leather top, are traditionally popular to use as coin purses at funerals. He smiles as he explains that recently a funeral party called on him and as soon as he opened the shop they rushed to buy up his stock. There were even quarrels breaking out as he sold out then and there.
Mr Alfred lives in his shop and as soon as he wakes up he starts weaving and he weaves everywhere he goes. The only time he stops is when there is funeral and he stops weaving out of respect.“I don’t go out to market to sell, but with the beauty of the baskets people see them and ask my customers where they bought it. Now everybody knows about my baskets and come to me to buy them”. There is one competitor who buys ready-made baskets elsewhere to sell but Alfred is proud to say that he is the only person making baskets here in Lawra and would be delighted to teach others his skill.
From the ATE workshop, Alfred gained advice on how to make a success of his business such as sometimes “dashing” a small basket to his customers to sweeten a sale. He keeps records of what he sells and since receiving the ATE grant he started saving a little money each month. As last month was his most profitable to date he split the profit to help two of his relatives set up their own pito (a local beverage) brewing businesses and direct money back into the family. Alfred’s baskets are of beautiful quality and he is happy that now he knows he can keep himself going with his business.