Cane, Bamboo, Grass, Fibre of Himachal Pradesh

Basket making is a home based craft across the Himachal The baskets are made by professional basket makers as well as by the women of Pahari households during the winter months. They are sold at the local fairs and weekly markets, at the Dussehra Festival and during the marriage season. Baskets are used to store, carry, work and for other functional purposes. Elaborately woven and strong the baskets are made of bamboo and other locally grown grasses such as the nargal (a thin grass). Load-bearing baskets are made from local wood-stemmed grasses – the toong , a thick grass found in the higher reaches of the mountains that is used for reinforcement, and nargal. Other grasses used are the chupod (a soft grass),phhagad (a hard grass);banana fibres or palm leaves. The techniques utilized in the construction of the basket vary according to the purpose of the basket but are usually combinations of coiling, interlacing and plaiting.