These eight handmade placemats come with a stylish storage solution. While using the placemats the basket is perfect for holding napkins, condiments or bread on your table.
Both, placemats and basket, are assembled by bundling dried kaisa grass. Kaisa is a sturdy wild grass that grows along the riverbanks in Bangladesh where it gets cut by artisans during the monsoon season, leaving the roots for the next year’s crop. When it is dried, Kaisa grass changes its color from natural light green to tan.
The female artisans in Bangladesh, who create these pieces by hand, work from home. A genuine Fair Trade partnership ensures they are paid fairly for their time and skills.
Material
Kaisa grass
Size
Placemats:
Diameter: 30cm
Basket:
Diameter: 31cm
Height: 14cm
Care
We recommend vacuuming your basket and placemats or occasionally shaking them to remove dirt particles. Do not rub stains as this may spread the stain and loosen the grass fibers. Water-based spills should be blotted with kitchen paper or an absorbent cloth as soon as possible. Oil-based or brightly colored spills may not be easily removed - we recommend a gentle eco-friendly cleaner. Dried Kaisa grass may lighten slightly as the fiber ages.
Meet the makers
The Dharma Door has been commissioning the incredible skills of female artisans in remote, rural communities since 2004. Their ultimate goal is to genuinely empower as many people as possible out of the cycle of poverty. By working with not-for-profit NGOs on the ground and combining contemporary design, enduring quality and unfailing ethics, The Dharma Door creates products that tell a much bigger story than just the item itself. "The more we trade, the more artisans we are able to provide sustainable work for. Through this approach, we are able to achieve the greatest impact" Shannon Sheedy, Founder of The Dharma Door.
