Weaving sweetgrass baskets in the Holy City
Photos and story by Bob Ford
CallTheCops@sc.rr.com

Carlene Habersham dreamed of becoming a teacher or nurse, but now carries on the family tradition of basketry.

The art of weaving sweetgrass baskets crossed the Atlantic Ocean from West Africa 300 years ago when slave traders brought West Africans to the United States.

The long, narrow blades of sweetgrass (Mulhenbergia filipes) grow on the coastal dunes on many of the barrier islands including Kiawah, Seabrook, Dewees, Bulls, Fripp, and Hilton Head.

This African coiled basketry is a signature product of the Holy City of Charleston, S.C..

Basket ladies sell their works of art principally at the Charleston Market, but there's also an estimated 75 basket stands along the Ocean Highway in Mt. Pleasant.

There are about 300 families involved in the S.C. Lowcountry sweetgrass basket industry. This includes harvesting, drying, and preparation of the long grass blades for weavers. African coiled sweetgrass products range in price from $20 for a set of four napkin rings to large, ornate flower baskets that can sell for $100 to $400.

Because of coastline development, the habitat of sweetgrass is diminishing, forcing makers of African coiled baskets to travel to Georgia and Florida coastal areas in search of sweetgrass.

Editor's note: For young people to read about the history of sweetgrass basket weaving Circle Unbroken, by Margot Theis Raven and illustrated by E.B. Lewis, is a choice. It chronicles the history of family- taught sweetgrass basket weaving from Africa to the present day. Raven researched the subject and wrote from her notes while sitting in a beach chair on Kiawah Island.