Good Morning to all.
A quick note. . . anyone who has written to me
through the website in the last few months
 and has not gotten a response . . . try again.  The computer glitch
has been taken care of.  Thanks.  Sorry.

It has been a very busy summer thanks to you and yours.
FYI The Cheese Lady shop is doing great
and the market has remained steady.
Speaking of the market,  isn't the variety cool?
I love the energy.  
And yesterday I had extra help so I walked around.  
I saw lots of corn, blueberries and the first apples
but I also saw people with their own creative passions
selling baby t-shirts, knitted fruit and vegetable hats,
fine photographs, tie die and candles,
fruit pies and cashews.
It reminded me of the L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Sunday market.
 
So check out the items that you sometimes consider
out of place at our market because they are not edible.
You'll find some very fun, very interesting offerings.

At my booth we stay mostly edible.
The beautiful exception has been the addition
of the elephant grass baskets from Ghana.

The baskets are exclusively woven by the indigenous Frafra people
of a historical town in Northern Ghana called Bolgatanga.

Bolga is known as the crafts center of northern Ghana,
with a large central market.
Weaving has been a traditional skill of these people over the years.
The geographical land area of Bolgatanga
is not fertile enough for extensive agricultural activities.
Coupled with an erratic rainfall pattern and generally harsh weather conditions,
handicraft activities such as basket weaving,
leather work and pottery are undertaken mostly by the women
to supplement their incomes from the subsistence of farming activities.

The weaving group has a mission:
to assist the poor rural women of Northern Ghana in earning decent incomes
from the fruits of their labors in order to care for their children.
We believe when the woman can create an income,
the trickle-down effect puts food into the bowl of a child,
and is a way of promoting self-esteem for the women, children and village.

The Creation Process:
    * Elephant grass straw is collected from the tops of the stalk,
then each piece is split in half vertically by biting through it.

    * Each half of the split straw is then twisted tightly
by rolling it against a weaverÕs leg to give it strength.

    * The straw is put in bunches and dyed in boiling water with the dye added.
For bright colors the straw is dyed yellow first, then the color.

    * The weaver carefully selects appropriate straw for the base, sides and handle.
The selection of the proper grass for the proper parts
 of the basket is critical to good weaving.

    * Weaving starts at the base and works up to the rim.
The rims are generally finished flat,
or wrapped with straw to form a tube like edge.

    * There are a variety of different handles,
but all are made with a sturdy wrapping technique around a grass core.

    * Remaining bits of straw that are sticking out of the basket are carefully trimmed off.
The trimming is important because it determines how the basket feels to the touch.

    * Leather handles are usually applied by local leather workers.
A medium basket takes 3 days.
_________________________________

We found these baskets at some of the markets in Florida last winter.
I bought one and got such pleasure from using it!
And now it is such fun to see the baskets come back to market every week!
(Not to mention that we all feel better for not using so many plastic bags.)

A shipment is on the road.   Due soon.


  NEXT WEEK NEW CHEESES
PINNA BRIGANTE AND CASTELINHOS
Life is good.
Take care, see you soon.
Kathleen
thecheeselady.net
or kathleen@thecheeselady.net