Gullah Fanner Basket

As a fifth generation basket weaver, Lynette Youson was taught as a child how to sew scraps of grass together by her great-grandmother, and she, in turn, taught her daughters the family craft. She grew up in a Gullah community of South Carolina where West African basket making traditions were used not simply to make beautiful objects but to serve utilitarian purposes. Fanner baskets, for example, were historically used to toss freshly picked rice into the air so that the wind would blow away the husks.

Sweetgrass, or sea grass, which is native to the southeastern seaboard from North Carolina to Florida, is preferred by Gullah basket weavers due to its ease of use and flexibility. But development and environmental factors have made the once abundant grass now scarce near Youson’s community, forcing area basket makers to travel to neighboring states to gather the materials for their creations. However, new sustainability projects are bringing back habitat to South Carolina.