Accompanied only by a suitcase of souvenirs gifted from her nieces, Zellipah emigrated from Kenya to Kansas to pursue higher education. Experiencing culture shock on arrival, Zellipah struggled to cement her new identity by selling souvenirs from her home country as a way to communicate in her new surroundings. She saw an opportunity to support women weavers like her mother who supplemented smallholder farming by selling handcrafts. Thus Gitzell FairTrade was born.

Since 2020, Gitzell FairTrade has invested in the communities it partners with, in the form of direct purchase orders. As a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation, Gitzell FairTrade works with several hundred women weavers in Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal and Uganda to produce hand woven baskets for decor, shopping and storage.

When your basket first arrives, it may be stiff, or hold fast to its folded shape, and be a bit hard to undo. The best way to revive the basket is to dip it in water (preferably cold water) to loosen the grass and undo the fold. This way, the basket freely loosens and allows you to mold it into the shape you would like it to have.

After putting it in water and undoing the fold, you simply tap the basket on a flat surface to get rid of any excess water. If the weather permits, you can now leave the basket out in the sun to dry so you can put it right to good use!