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Sweetgrass basket short film “Hands to Heritage” features the Lowcountry

Bloomberg Philanthropies has created a short film based on the connection between South Carolina and Rwanda basket weavers.

CHStoday Hands to Heritage

Master weavers of South Carolina visit the weavers village in a Gitarma village in Muhammad District in Rwanda to meet share and exchange technique.

Photo by Jordan Snowzell for Bloomberg Philanthropies

This past Monday, Mayor John Tecklenburg and Verna Eggleston, launched the premiere of the “Hands to Heritage” short film about sweetgrass baskets.

“Hands to Heritage” is based on the program created in 2017 by Bloomberg Philanthropies to bring economic opportunities to the basket weavers of South Carolina. This program is a step in the City of Charleston’s reconciliation to heal from slavery.

The short film outlines the history of Charleston’s sweetgrass basket weaving industry. The story brings viewers through the weave of Gullah culture coming from West Africa to Charleston and how it lives on today in our city.

Peace baskets were created through this program, and one set was given from Charleston to Rwanda’s central government. The other basket set is permanently on display at the Charleston International Airport.

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