TRADE PROJECT

PROJECT TITLE : MAKING BREAD BASKET USING SKEWERS

NAME : KIPTALAM JEPCHUMBA JOYLINE

INDEX NUMBER :

COURSE : CRAFT CERTIFICATE IN CATERING & ACCOMODATION

DEPARTMENT : HOSPITALITY

SUBMITTED TO : THE KENYA NATIONAL EXAMINATION COUNCIL

COLLEGE : ADEPT COLLEGE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

DATE : JUNE / JULY 2025

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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this is my individual genuine work and has not been copied form anywhere
or anybody else’s work.

NAME: KIPTALAM JEPCHUMBA JOYLINE

SIGNATURE:……………………..

DATE:………………………….

SUPERVISOR DECLARATION

NAME: DAVID OCHIENG

SIGNATURE:……………………..

DATE:………………………….

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DEDICATION
This write up is dedicated to my dear parents for the financial, emotional and physical support to
the commencement and successful completion of this project.

Thank you and may God Bless you abundantly.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to acknowledge the generous contribution of the following to the success of this
project and write up.

I wish to acknowledgement the support of my supervisor throughout compilation of this project

and my colleagues who gave me encouragement.

May God Bless you all.

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Table of Contents
DECLARATION..........................................................................................................................................i

DEDICATION.............................................................................................................................................ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.........................................................................................................................iii

ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................i

CHAPTER ONE..........................................................................................................................................1

1.0INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY....................................................................................................1

1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.......................................................................................................1

1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT...................................................................................................................3

1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY................................................................................................................3

1.5OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY...........................................................................................................3

1.6JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY.....................................................................................................3

1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY...................................................................................................................3

1.8WORK PLAN...........................................................................................................................................4

CHAPTER TWO.........................................................................................................................................5

2.0LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................................5

2.1ART OF BASKETRY.............................................................................................................................6

2.2MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF MAKING BASKETS........................................................7

2.2.1Coiled construction..........................................................................................................................9

2.2.2Spiral coiling.....................................................................................................................................9

2.2.3Sewed coiling..................................................................................................................................10

2.2.4Half-hitch and knotted coiling......................................................................................................10

2.2.5Noncoiled construction..................................................................................................................11

2.2.6Wattle construction........................................................................................................................11

2.2.7 Lattice construction......................................................................................................................12

2.2.8Matting or plaited construction....................................................................................................13

2.3USES OF BASKET...............................................................................................................................14
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2.4ORIGINS OF BASKETRY...................................................................................................................18

American Indian basketry....................................................................................................................19

Oceanic basketry....................................................................................................................................20

African basketry.....................................................................................................................................20

East Asian basketry...............................................................................................................................20

European basketry.................................................................................................................................21

Modern basketry....................................................................................................................................21

2.5PREPARATION OF PAPYRUS REEDS BEFORE USE.....................................................................21

2.6 PRODUCTION PROCESS OF PAPYRUS REED BREAD BASKET........................................23

3.2 OBSERVATION OF THE PAPYRUS REED BASKET.................................................................27

CHAPTER FOUR......................................................................................................................................29

DATA ANALYSIS AND REPRESENTATION........................................................................................31

CHAPTER FIVE.......................................................................................................................................53

5.1 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................53

5.2 RECOMMENDATION.........................................................................................................................53

5.3 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED.........................................................................................................53

BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................................54

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ABSTRACT
This write up is a project report of making a bread basket using Skewers. Skewers have been
used over the years to make authentic product’s in the hospitality industry. The requirements,
procedure and process are systematically discussed in this booklet. Hand woven baskets from Sk
ewers from bamboo or papyrus reeds grown in Kenya make durable bread baskets.

Skewers products can also act as a decorative piece in hospitality industry, home and adds styl
e to any room.
Handmade products like papyrus bread baskets enhance Kenya to build a sustainable business
that can be ventured into by all including the illiterate citizens , alleviate extreme poverty and to
support their families with dignity.

The project aims to bring hope to the community that locally available resources can be used as
raw materials to make products hence improve our economy and living standards four people.

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY

Basketry, art and craft of making interwoven objects, usually containers, from flexible vegetable
fibres, such as twigs, grasses, osiers, Skewers, and rushes, or from plastic or other synthetic
materials. The containers made by this method are called basket.

The researcher aims to make appealing and durable bread baskets from the indigenous and
authentic Skewers plant. The skewers can be wither form a bamboo or a papyrus reed plant. The
purposes of the projects the skewers used will be from paryurus reeds.

Papyrus is a large, emergent, aquatic perennial sedge from Africa that produces rhizomes
covered in thick, black scales. It grows 10-15 feet high with unusual feather duster type heads
composed of thin rays and elongated bracts. In NC it is used as a container plant or annual. It
needs boggy soil or standing water in full sun to partial shade. It can be used in water gardens or
as a houseplant grown in a 20-gallon pot. Bring inside before the first frost.

It has escaped cultivation in areas as Fl, CA, and HI and can become quite invasive by clogging
up waterways.

1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The researcher aims to bring a radical change to the hotel industry. This is by making eco
friendly products form naturally available resources. The products are aimed to be attractive,
durable and pocket friendly. Clearly, a variety of decorative possibilities arise from the actual
work of constructing basketry. These, combined with the possible contrasts of colour and texture,
would seem to provide extensive decorative possibilities. Each particular type of basketry,
however, imposes certain limitations, which may lead to convergent effects: hexagonal
openwork, for example, forms the same pattern the world over, just as twilled weaving forms the
same chevrons (vertical or horizontal).
Each type, also, allows a certain range of freedom in the decoration within the basic restrictions
imposed by the rigidity of the interlaced threads, which tends to impose geometric designs or at
least to geometrize the motifs. In general, the two main types of basketry—plaited and coiled—

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lend themselves to two different kinds of decoration. Coiled basketry lends itself to radiating
designs, generally star- or flower-shaped compositions or whirling designs sweeping from the
centre to the outer edge. Plaited basketry, whether diagonal or straight, lends itself to over-all
compositions of horizontal stripes and, in the detail, to intertwined shapes that result from the
way two series of threads, usually in contrasting colours, appear alternately on the surface of the
basket.
Other art forms have been influenced ornamentally by basketry’s plaited shapes and
characteristic motifs. Because of their intrinsic decorative value—and not because the medium
dictates it—these shapes and motifs have been reproduced in such materials as wood, metal,
and clay. Some notable examples are the interlacing decorations carved on wood in the Central
African Congo; basketry motifs engraved into metalwork and set off with in layed silver by
Frankish artisans in the Merovingian period (6th to 8th century); and osier patterns (molded
basketwork designs) developed in 18th-century Europe to decorate porcelain.

1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT

There is pressure from the current market and trends and customer preferences are changing
every now and then. However if products with an original taste and introduced to the market
there will be market retention and favourable service delivery while still maintaining customers.

1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The study is aimed to make durable product that will create a good image in the hospitality
industry and improve in sales and effective service delivery. The products is also aimed to make
customers lives easier as it can be used at home for many need.

1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

a) To come up with ecofriendly bread basket product made from skewers
b) To make use of locally available raw materials to reduce operation cost
c) To create employment by promoting hand skills artistry
d) To add variety of products in hospitality industry .
e) To make durable and authentic products.

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1.6JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
Fruit basketry consist primarily of receptacles for preparing and serving food and vary
widely in dimension, shape, and water tightness. Fruit baskets can be used for serving dry
food, such as fruit and bread, and they are also used as plates and bowls. The proposed

1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY

The researcher had a hard time finding Skewers sources as not many people have Skewers
forests around the town.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

SKEWERS

The skewers have their origin in the Middle East, it is still not deciphered if it was in Turkey or
Iran, despite being a basic structure there is much more to this fabulous dish.

Each site adapted it to its culture, making variety in the dressings, components and
accompaniments but maintaining the essence that is placing food on a stick, cooking on
coals evoking the first meals of the human being when they just discovered fire.

The history of the kebabs is related to the place where it is found, as we already mentioned the
base that is the remembrance of the beginning of humanity when they had the need to put the
food to be cooked in the fire.

However, the culinary history of this dish takes us on a journey around the world where each
person adds his or her own unique touch:

 Middle East: the beginning of the journey is precisely where the kebabs called shish kebab in
Iran or Şiş kebap in Turkey come from, but we know them as kebab, the protagonist of this
dish is the seasoning loaded with condiments that give the cuts of lamb, beef or chicken an
unbeatable flavor.
 In Armenia they are known as khorovats, but by the rest of the region they are known as
shashliks, in this case the dressing varies since it is a mixture between wines and spices that
give to the meat the special touch, in these regions it is common that the pork is used more.
 Eastern Europe: if we take a walk through this area we will realize that this dish is very well
known and in some places considered national dish, we can find it under different names like:

 Frigărui.
 Ražnjići.
 Ćevapi.

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 Each one different by particularities like aromatic spices, aggregates like onions or
vegetables and much more.

2.1ART OF BASKETRY
Basketry, art and craft of making interwoven objects, usually containers, from flexible vegetable
fibres, such as twigs, grasses, osiers, Skewers, and rushes, or from plastic or
other syntheticmaterials. The containers made by this method are called baskets.
The Babylonian god Marduk “plaited a wicker hurdle on the surface of the waters. He created
dust and spread it on the hurdle.” Thus ancient Mesopotamian myth describes the creation of the
earth using a reed mat. Many other creation myths place basketry among the first of the arts
given to humans. The Dogon of West Africa tell how their first ancestor received a square-
bottomed basket with a round mouth like those still used there in the 20th century. This basket,
upended, served him as a model on which to erect a world system with a circular
base representing the sun and a square terrace representing the sky.

Like the decorative motifs of any other art form, the geometric, stylized shapes may represent
natural or supernatural objects, such as the snakes and pigeon eyes of Borneo, and the kachina
(deified ancestral spirit), clouds, and rainbows of the Hopi Indians of Arizona. The fact that these
motifs are given a name, however, does not always mean that they have symbolic significance or
express religious ideas.

Sometimes symbolism is associated with the basket itself. Among the Guayaki Indians of eastern
Paraguay, for example, it is identified with the female. The men are hunters, the women are
bearers as they wander through the forest; when a woman dies, her last burden basket is ritually
burned and thus dies with her.

Though it would appear that basketry might best be defined as the art or craft of making baskets,
the fact is that the name is one of those the limits of which seem increasingly imprecise the more
one tries to grasp it. The category basket may include receptacles made of interwoven, rather
rigid material, but it may also include pliant sacks made of a mesh indistinguishable from netting
—or garments or pieces of furniture made of the same materials and using the same processes as
classical basketmaking. In fact, neither function nor appearance nor material nor mode of

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construction are of themselves sufficient to delimit the field of what common sense nevertheless
recognizes as basketry.

In this discussion the word is taken to mean a handmade assemblage of vegetable fibres that is
relatively large and rigid, so as to make a continuous surface, usually (but not exclusively) a
receptacle. The consistency of the materials used distinguishes basketry, which is handmade,
from weaving, in which the flexibility of the threads requires the use of an apparatus to put
tension on the warp, the lengthwise threads. What basketry has in common with weaving is that
both are means of assembling separate fibres by twisting them together in various ways.

2.2 MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF MAKING BASKETS

There is no region in the world, except in the northernmost and southernmost parts, where people
do not have at their disposal materials—such as twigs, roots, canes, and grasses—that lend
themselves to the construction of baskets. The variety and quality of materials available in a
particular region bears on the relative importance of basketry in a culture and on the types of
basketry produced by the culture. Rainy, tropical zones, for example, have palms and large
leaves that require plaiting techniques different from those required for the grass stalks that
predominate in the dry, subtropical savanna regions or for the roots and stalks found in cold
temperate zones. The interrelationship between materials and methods of construction might in
part explain why the principal types of basketry are distributed in large areas that perhaps
correspond to climatic zones as much as to cultural groups: the predominance of sewed coiling,
for example, in the African savannas and in the arid zones of southern Eurasia and of North
America; of spiral coiling and twining in temperate regions; and of various forms of plaiting in
hot regions. There is also a connection between the materials used and the function of the basket,
which determines whether rigid or soft materials—either as found in nature or specially prepared
—are used. In East Asia, for example, twined basketry fashioned out of thin, narrow strips
(called laths) of Skewers is effective for such objects as cages and fish traps that require solid
partitions with openings at regular intervals. Soft and rigid fibres are often used together: the
rigid fibres provide the shape of the object and soft ones act as a binder to hold the shape.
Finally, materials are chosen with a view toward achieving certain aesthetic goals; conversely,
these aesthetic goals are limited by the materials available to the basket maker. The effects most

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commonly sought in a finished product are delicacy and regularity of the threads; a smooth,
glossy surface or a dull, rough surface; and colour, whether natural or dyed. Striking effects can
be achieved from the contrast between threads that are light and dark, broad and narrow, dull and
shiny—contrasts that complement either the regularity or the decorative motifs obtained by the
intricate work of plaiting.
Despite an appearance of almost infinite variety, the techniques of basketry can be grouped into
several general types according to how the elements making up the foundation (the standards,
which are analogous to the warp of cloth) are arranged and how the moving element (the thread)
holds the standards by intertwining among them.

2.2.1 Coiled construction

The distinctive feature of this type of basketry is its foundation, which is made up of a single
element, or standard, that is wound in a continuous spiral around itself. The coils are kept in
place by the thread, the work being done stitch by stitch and coil by coil. Variations within this
type are defined by the method of sewing, as well as by the nature of the coil, which largely
determines the type of stitch.

2.2.2 Spiral coiling

The most common form is spiral coiling, in which the nature of the standard introduces two main
subvariations: when it is solid, made up of a single whole stem, the thread must squeeze the two
coils together binding each to the preceding one (giving a diagonal, or twilled, effect); with a
double or triple standard the thread catches in each stitch one of the standards of the preceding
coil. Many other variations of spiral coiling are possible. Distribution of this type of basketry
construction extends in a band across northern Eurasia and into northwest North America; it is
also found in the southern Pacific region (China and Melanesia) and, infrequently, in Africa
(Rhodesia).

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2.2.3 Sewed coiling
Sewed coiling has a foundation of multiple elements—a bundle of fine fibres. Sewing is done
with a needle or an awl, which binds each coil to the preceding one by piercing it through with
the thread. The appearance varies according to whether the thread conceals the foundation or not
(bee-skep variety) or goes through the centre of the corresponding stitch on the preceding coil
(split stitch, or furcate). This sewed type of coiled ware has a very wide distribution: it is almost
the exclusive form in many regions of North and West Africa; it existed in ancient Egyptand
occurs today in Arabia and throughout the Mediterranean basin as far as western Europe; it also
occurs in North America, in India, and sporadically in the Asiatic Pacific. A variety of sewed
coiling, made from a long braid sewed in a spiral, has been found throughout North Africa since
ancient Egyptian times.

2.2.4 Half-hitch and knotted coiling

In half-hitch coiling, the thread forms half hitches (simple knots) holding the coils in place, the
standard serving only as a support. There is a relationship between half-hitch coiling and the
half-hitch net (without a foundation), the distribution of which is much more extensive. The half-
hitch type of basketry appears to be limited to Australia, Tasmania, Tierra del Fuego in South
America, and Pygmy territory in Africa. In knotted coiling, the thread forms knots around two
successive rows of standards; many varieties can be noted in the Congo, in Indonesia, and among
the Basket Makers, an ancient culture of the plateau area of southwestern United States, centred
in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah.
The half-hitch and knotted-coiling types of basketry each have a single element variety in which
there is no foundation, the thread forming a spiral by itself analogous to the movement of the
foundation in the usual type. An openwork variety of the single element half hitch (called cycloid
coiling) comes from the Malay area; and knotted single-element basketry, from Tierra del Fuego
and New Guinea.

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2.2.5 Non coiled construction

Compared to the coiled techniques, all other types of basketry have a certain unity of
construction: the standards form a foundation that is set up when the work is begun and that
predetermines the shape and dimensions of the finished article. Nevertheless, if one considers the
part played by the standards and the threads, respectively, most noncoiled basketry can be
divided into three main groups.

2.2.6 Wattle construction

A single layer of rigid, passive, parallel standards is held together by flexible threads in one of
three ways, each representing a different subtype. (1) The bound, or wrapped, type, which is not
very elaborate, has a widespread distribution, being used for burden baskets in the Andaman
Islands in the Bay of Bengal, for poultry cages in different parts of Africa and the Near East, and
for small crude baskets in Tierra del Fuego. (2) In the twined type, the threads are twisted in twos
or threes, two or three strands twining around the standards and enclosing them. The twining
may be close or openwork or may combine tight standards and spaced threads. Close twining
mainly occurs in three zones: Central Africa, Australia, and western North America, where there
are a number of variations such as twilled and braided twining and zigzag or honeycomb
twining. The openwork subtype is found almost universally because it provides a perfect solution
to the problem of maintaining rigid standards with even spacing for fish traps and hurdles
(portable panels used for enclosing land or livestock). Using spaced threads, this subtype is also
used for flexible basketry among the Ainu of northern Japan and the Kuril Islands and
sporadically throughout the northern Pacific. (3) The woven type, sometimes
termed wickerwork, is made of stiff standards interwoven with flexible threads. It is the type
most commonly found in European and African basketry and is found sporadically in North and
South America and in Near and Far Eastern Asia.

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Double-thick wattle-woven tray, from the former Ruanda-Urundi, Africa.

2.2.7 Lattice construction

In lattice construction a frame made of two or three layers of passive standards is bound together
by wrapping the intersections with a thread. The ways of intertwining hardly vary at all and the
commonest is also the simplest: the threads are wrapped in a spiral around two layers of
standards. This method is widely used throughout the world in making strong, fairly rigid objects
for daily use: partitions for dwellings, baskets to be carried on the back, cages, and fish traps
(with a Mediterranean variety composed of three layers of standards and a knotted thread). The
same method, moreover, can be adapted for decorative purposes, with threads—often of different
colours—to form a variety of motifs similar to embroidery. This kind of lattice construction
appears mainly among the Makah Indians of the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in Central and East
Africa.
2.2.8 Matting or plaited construction

Standards and threads are indistinguishable in matting or plaited construction; they are either
parallel and perpendicular to the edge (straight basketry) or oblique (diagonal basketry). Such
basketry is closest to textile weaving. The materials used are almost always woven, using the
whole gamut of weaving techniques (check, twill, satin, and innumerable decorative
combinations). Depending on the material and on the technique used, this type of construction
lends itself to a wide variety of forms, in particular to the finest tiny boxes and to the most
artistic large plane surfaces. It is widely distributed but seems particularly well adapted to the
natural resources and to the kind of life found in intertropical areas. The regions where it is most
common are different from, and complementary with, those specializing in coiled and twined
ware; that is, eastern and southeastern Asia (from Japan to Malaysia and Indonesia), tropical
America, and the island of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa.

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Japanese openwork basketJapanese Skewers flower basket showing diagonal openwork
plaiting; in the Musée du quai Branly, Paris.Courtesy of the Musée du Quai Branly (formely the
Musée de l'Homme), Paris

One variety of matting or plaited work consists of three or four layers of elements, which are in
some cases completely woven and in others form an intermediate stage between woven and
lattice basketry. The intermediate type (with two layered elements, one woven) is known
as hexagonal openwork and is the technique most common in openwork basketry using flat
elements. It has a very wide distribution: from Europe to Japan, southern Asia, Central Africa,
and the tropical Americas. A closely woven fabric in three layers, forming a six-pointed
star design, is found on a small scale in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Vietnamese basket: Vietnamese burden basket showing straight-woven plaiting

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2.3USES OF BASKET
Household basketry objects consist primarily of receptacles for preparing and serving food and
vary widely in dimension, shape, and watertightness. Baskets are used the world over for serving
dry food, such as fruit and bread, and they are also used as plates and bowls. Sometimes—if
made waterproof by a special coating or by particularly close plaiting—they are used as
containers for liquids. Such receptacles are found in various parts of Europe and Africa (Chad,
Rwanda, Ethiopia) and among several groups of North American Indians. By dropping hot
stones into the liquid, the Hupa Indians of northwestern California even boil water or food in
baskets.

Openwork, which is permeable and can be made with mesh of various sizes, is used for such
utensils as sieves, strainers, and filters. Such basketry objects are used in the most
primitive cultures as well as in the most modern (the tea strainers used in Japan, for example).
The flexibility of work done on the diagonal is put to particularly ingenious use by the Africans
in beer making and, above all, by Amazonian Indians in extracting the toxic juices
from maniocpulp (a long basketwork cylinder is pulled down at the bottom by ballasting and, as
it gets longer, compresses the pulp with which it had previously been filled).
Finally, basketry plays an important part as storage containers. For personal possessions, there
are baskets, boxes, and cases of all kinds—nested boxes from Madagascar, for example, which
are made in a graduated series so that they fit snugly one within another, or caskets with multiple
compartments from Indonesia. For provisions, there are baskets in various sizes that can be hung
up out of the reach of predators, and there are baskets so large that they are used as granaries. In
Sudan in Africa, as in southern Europe, these are usually raised off the ground on a platform and
sheltered by a large roof or stored in the house, particularly in Mediterranean regions; for
preserving cereals they are sometimes caulked with clay.
Some of these granaries are not far from being houses. Basketry used in house construction,
however, usually consists of separately made elements that are later assembled; partitions of
varying degrees of rigidity used as walls or to fence in an enclosure; roofs made of great basketry
cones (in Chad, for example); and, above all, mats, which have numerous uses in the actual
construction as well as in the equipping of a house. Probably the oldest evidence of basketry is

13
the mud impressions of woven mats that covered the floors of houses in the Neolithic
(c. 7000 BCE) village of Jarmo in northern Iraq. Mats were used in ancient Egypt to cover floors
and walls and were also rolled up and unrolled in front of doorways, as is shown by stone
replicas decorating the doorways of tombs dating from the Old Kingdom, c. 2686–2160 BCE. It
is known from paintings that they were made of palm leaves and were decorated with
polychrome (multicoloured) stripes, much like the mats found in Africa and the Near East.
Two notable examples of modern mats are the pliant ones, made of pandanus leaves, found in
southern Asia and Oceania and the tatami, which provide the unit of measurement of the surface
area of Japanese dwellings. Just as basketry has been used for making containers and mats, so
from ancient times to modern it has been used for making such pieces of furniture as cradles,
beds, tables, and various kinds of seats and cabinets.
In addition to the use of basketry for skirts and loincloths (particularly common in Oceania),
supple diagonal plaiting has even been used to make dresses (Madagascar). Plaited raincoats
exist throughout eastern Asia as well as Portugal. Basketry most frequently is used for shoes
(particularly sandals, some of which come close to covering the foot and are plaited in various
materials), and, of course, for hats—the conical hat particularly common in eastern Asia, for
example, and the skullcaps and brimmed hats found in Africa, the Americas, and much of
Europe.
To protect head and body against weapons, thick, strong basketry has been used in the form
of helmets (Africa, the Assam region in India, and Hawaii); armour (for example, armour
of coconut palm fibre for protection against weapons made of sharks’ teeth by the Micronesia
inhabitants of the Gilbert Islands); and shields, for which basketry is eminently suitable because
of its lightness. In addition to clothes themselves, there are numerous basketry accessories: small
purses, combs, headdresses, necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. In West Africa there are even
chains made of fine links and pendants plaited in a beautiful, bright yellow straw in imitation of
gold jewelry. Many objects are plaited just for decoration or amusement such as ornaments like
those used for Christmas trees or for harvest festivals and scale models and little animal or
human figurines that sometimes serve as children’s toys.
There is often no very clear distinction between accessories and ritual ornaments, as in
the ephemeral headdresses made for initiation rites by the young Masa people in the Cameroon;

14
dance accessories; ornaments for masks, such as the leaf masks that the Bobo of Upper Volta
make with materials from the bush.
More clearly ritual in nature are the palms (woven into elaborate geometric shapes and liturgical
symbols) carried in processions on Palm Sunday by Christians in various Mediterranean regions;
some, like those from Elche in Spain, are over six feet (nearly two metres) high and take days to
make. In Bali an infinite variety of plaiting techniques are involved in the preparation of ritual
offerings, which is a permanent occupation for the women, a hundred of whom may work for a
month or two preparing for certain great festivals.
Baskets are used throughout the world as snares and fish traps, which allow the catch to enter but
not to leave. They are often used in conjunction with a corral (on land) or a weir (an enclosure
set in the water), which are themselves made either of pliable nets or panels of basketry. In
Africa as well as in eastern Asia a basketry object is used for fishing in shallow water; open at
top and bottom, this object is deposited sharply on the bottom of shallow rivers or ponds, and,
when a fish is trapped, it is retrieved by putting a hand in through the opening at the top.
Basketry is also used in harvesting foodstuffs; for example, in the form of winnowing trays (from
whose French name, van, the French word for basketry, vannerie, is derived). One basket, found
in the Sahel region south of the Sahara, is swung among wild grasses and in knocking against the
stalks collects the grain.
Baskets are used as transport receptacles; they are made easier to carry by the addition of handles
or straps depending on whether the basket is carried by hand, on a yoke, or on the back. The two-
handled palm-leaf basket, common in North Africa and the Middle East, existed in ancient
Mesopotamia; in Europe and eastern Asia, the one-handled basket, which comes in a variety of
shapes, sizes, and types of plaiting, is common; in Africa, however, where burdens are generally
carried on the head, there is no difference between baskets used for transporting goods and those
used for storing.
Burden baskets are large, deep baskets in which heavy loads can be carried on the back; they are
provided either with a headband that goes across the forehead (especially American Indian,
southern Asia), or with two straps that go over the shoulders (especially in Southeast Asia and
Indonesia). There are three fairly spectacular types of small basketry craft found in regions as far
apart as Peru, Ireland, and Mesopotamia: the balsa (boats) of Lake Titicaca, made of reeds and
sometimes fitted out with a sail also made of matting; the British coracle, the basketry
15
framework of which is covered with a skin sewn onto the edge; and the gufa of the Tigris, which
is round like the coracle and made of plaited reeds caulked with bitumen.

2.4 ORIGINS OF BASKETRY

Something about the prehistoric origins of basketry can be assumed from archaeological
evidence. The evidence that does exist from Neolithic times onward has been preserved because
of conditions of extreme dryness (Egypt, Peru, southern Spain) or extreme humidity (peat bogs
in northern Europe, lake dwellings in Switzerland); because it had been buried in volcanic ash
(Oregon); or because, like the mats at Jarmo, it left impressions in the mud or on a pottery base
that had originally been molded onto a basketry foundation. More recently, when written and
pictorial documentation is available, an activity as humble and banal as basketry is not
systematically described but appears only by chance in narratives, inventories, or pictures in
which basketry objects figure as accessories.
On the evidence available, researchers have concluded that the salient characteristics of basketry
are the same today as they were before the 3rd millennium BCE. Then, as now, there was a wide
variety of types (and a wide distribution of most types): coiled basketry either spiral or sewed,
including furcate and sewed braid (mainly in Europe and the Near East as far as the Indus
valley); wattlework with twined threads (America, Europe, Egypt) and with woven threads
(Jarmo, Peru, Egypt); and plaited construction with twilled weaving (Palestine, Europe).

To list the centres of production would almost be to list all human cultural groups. Some regions,
however, stand out for the emphasis their inhabitants place on basketry or for the excellence of
workmanship there.

American Indian basketry

In western North America the art of basketry has attained one of its highest peaks of perfection
and has occupied a preeminent place in the equipment of all the groups who practice it. North
American Indians are particularly noted for their twined and coiled work. The Chilkat and the
Tlingit of the Pacific Northwest are known for the extreme delicacy of their twined basketry; the
California Indians, for the excellence of their work with both types; and the Apache and the Hopi
and other Pueblo Indians of the southwestern interior of the United States, for coiled basketry
remarkable for its bold decoration and delicate technique.
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Central and South American basketry is similar in materials and plaiting processes. The notable
difference lies in the finishes used, and in this the Guyana Indians of northeastern South America
excel, using a technique of fine plaiting with a twill pattern.
Oceanic basketry
Various plaiting processes have been highly developed in Oceania, not merely for making
utilitarian articles but also for ceremonial items and items designed to enhance prestige, such as
finely twined cloaks in New Zealand, statues in Polynesia, masks in New Guinea, and decorated
shields in the Solomon Islands. In Oceania, as in southern Asia, there is a vegetal civilization, in
which basketry predominates over such arts as metalwork and pottery. Particular mention should
be made of the Senoi of the Malay Peninsula and of the Australian Aborigines, whose meagre
equipment includes delicate basketry done by the women. The Senoi use various plaiting
techniques, and the Australians use tight twining.
African basketry
Africa presents an almost infinite variety of basket types and uses. In such regions as Chad
and Cameroon, basketry is in evidence everywhere—edging the roads, roofing the houses,
decorating the people, and providing the greater part of domestic equipment. The delicate twill
plaited baskets of the Congo region are notable for their clever patterning. In the central and
eastern Sudanese zone the rich decorative effect of the sewed, coiled baskets is derived from the
interplay of colours. People living in the lake area of the Great Rift Valley produce elegant
coiled and twined basketry of restrained decoration and careful finishing.

East Asian basketry

People of the temperate zones of East Asia produce a variety of work. Papyrus reed occupies a
particularly important place both in functional basketry equipment and in aesthetic objects
(Japanese flower baskets, for example). The production of decorative objects is one feature that
distinguishes East Asian basketry from the primarily utilitarian basketry of the Near East and
Africa. Southeast Asia, together with Madagascar, are among the places known for their fine
decorative plaiting techniques.

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European basketry

In Europe almost the whole range of basketry techniques is used, chiefly in making utilitarian
objects (receptacles for domestic and carrying purposes and household furniture) but also in
making objects primarily for decorative use.

Modern basketry

Even in the modern industrial world, there seems to be a future for basketry. Because of its
flexibility, lightness, permeability, and solidity, it will probably remain unsurpassed for some
utilitarian ends; such articles, however, because they are entirely handmade, will gradually
become luxury items. As a folk art, on the other hand, basketry needs no investment of money:
the essential requirements remain a simple awl, nimble fingers, and patience.

2.5 PREPARATION OF PAPYRUS SKEWERS BEFORE USE

The papyrus plant grows wild in Egypt in the marshes along the Nile river. In the ancient world,
paper was made exclusively from high-quality papyrus grown on plantations. As a result,
modern papyrus, which is made from wild plants, is of a lower quality than ancient papyrus.

A stalk of papyrus is clipped near the base.

In ancient times, the entire plant was pulled from the root at harvest time. It is unkown at what
time of year the ancient Egyptians harvested papyrus, or whether mature papyrus was preferred
over young papyrus.

A cut stalk of papyrus

The stalk of papyrus is cut free from the base. The triangular shape of the Skewers is clearly
visible.

18
Peeling the outer layer of the papyrus

In ancient times, the tough outer layer would have been kept for other uses. Strips of this layer
could be woven together to form all manner of useful items, such as baskets or sandals.
However, only the inner part of the reed is used to make the writing material.

Overview of the papyrus stalks, peeled and unpeeled

In the photo you can see (left to right) an unpeeled papyrus stalk, complete with flower; two
peeled papyrus stalks; and several strips of the papyrus' green outer layer.

Cutting the Skewers into strips

Once the outer layer is removed, the inner part of the reed is cut into strips. No one is completely
sure what method was used in ancient times. Rather than cutting the reed, as shown above, some
have suggested that the triangular stalk was peeled into strips.

Several strips of papyrus

The strips should all be around the same length and thickness, in order to create a consistent
shape for the sheet.

Soaking the papyrus strips in water

Soaking the papyrus strips is important for softening the papyrus and activating the plant's
natural juices, which act as a glue to hold the strips together. In ancient times, it was thought that
the mystical Nile waters were essential to the papyrus-making process, but any water will do.

Rolling out the papyrus strips

After they have soaked for a few days in water, a wooden rolling pin is used to drive out the
water and flatten the papyrus strips.

The papyrus strips are laid out

19
The strips of flattened, soaked papyrus are laid out in two layers perpindicular to each other. This
technique is absoluetly essential to papyrus making, and is what gives papyrus its characterstic
look and feel. Here, each strip overlaps the next by 1/16 inch.

The sheet is placed into a press When the strips have all been laid out, they are covered
with a sheet of linen and felt, and then sandwiched between two boards in a press. The sheet will
remain in the press for a few days until it is dry.

The sheet of papyrus is removed from the press The sheet is kept in the press for a few days,
and the felt is changed daily to aid the drying process. When the sheet is dry, it is removed from
the press.

The finished sheet of papyrus and a burnishing stone Initially, the surface of the papyrus is
somewhat rough. It may be burnished slightly with a stone, and then it is ready to receive
writing.

2.6 PRODUCTION PROCESS OF SKEWERS BREAD BASKET

Step 1

Grasp a small clump of Skewers, according to the thickness you desire for the wall of the basket.
Thread a blunt needle with raphia (a strip of reed from the palm plant). Line up the end of the
raphia with the right side end of the Skewers, with the needle pointing to the left. About 1 1/2
inches from the right side end, pinch the raphia tail and wrap the needle around the tail and the
Skewers. Wrap the raphia over the Skewers and tail from that point, 1 1/2 inches to the right.
Keep the wrappings tight to each other. When you reach the end, it is time to form the first coil
of the basket.

Step 2

Curl the tightly wrapped 1 1/2 inches into a tiny circle. Bring the needle through the center of the
circle. Pierce the side of the coil to secure the coil's shape. You should see your new coil on one
end and unwrapped Skewers on the other.

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Step 3

Bring the needle over the unwrapped Skewers and through the top of the coil 1/8 inch from the
edge. Take the needle out from the underside of the coil. Bring the needle over the grass 1/4 inch
to the left. Pull the raphia tight. Press the needle through the coil 1/8 inch from the first pierced
hole. Take the needle out from the underside of the coil. Although the term pierced is used,
usually the needle moves between the existing raphia and bound grass. Pull the needle-raphia
end until the Skewers is snug against the coil. Repeat every 1/4 inch.

Step 4

Continue weaving until your raphia is short. Pull the small piece of raphia off the needle.
Sandwich the raphia between the growing coils and thread a new raphia piece. Often raphia is
kept in a moist towel. Other types of grasses or reed materials are soaked to soften them for
weaving. Pierce the existing coil with the newly threaded needle 1/8 inch from the last piercing
hole and continue weaving. Add Skewers in an overlapping way when you near the end of one
bunch. Keep the thickness of the bunch consistent.

Step 5

Vary your basket shape by adjusting where you pierce the coil. The bottom of the basket is made
with flat coils made by piercing straight down 1/8 inch from the outer coil side. To curve the coil
upward, pierce the row of coil at a 30 degree angle. To create flat sides, pierce the row of coil at
a 90 degree angle. You determine your final row based on how large you want your basket. On
your final row, trim the Skewers into a taper so that the raphia angles into the top row for a nice
finished appearance. Trim the raphia tails with a knife.

21
CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY, DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE

It is important to have recording of collected data in order to have a comprehensive data

analysis. of the already existing and purpose ideas as it was done to the project. Different
characteristics ware observed in the preparation and making of Skewers basket.

Method used (research instruments)

 questionnaires
 Observation of Skewers basket.

3.1 QUESTIONNAIRES

This is a hand written or printed list of question to be answered by a number of people who had
a look at the Skewers basket. The questions were based on: external physical appearance, colour,
shape and durability of the Skewers basket.

How do you find the physical appearance of Skewers basket?

Control

 excellent
 good
 bad

Test control

Panelist Excellent Good Bad

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
22
a) how do you find the colour of Skewers basket
Control :shinny brown, right, dull

Panelist Shinny brown Bright dull

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

b) How do you find the shape of Skewers basket

Control; Excellent, Good, Bad.

Panelist Excellent Good Bad

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

c) How do you find the durability of the Skewers basket?

23
 Control: Excellent, Good, Bad

Panelist Excellent Good Bad

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

3.2 OBSERVATION OF THE SKEWERS BASKET

Should this type of basket be introduced in the market?
Control; Yes, No

panelist Yes No

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

24
CHAPTER FOUR

4. 0 DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

A group of respondents were shown and told to sample on physical appearance, colour,shape
and durability of the Skewers basket and plastic basket and indicate their finding.
The following is the record of the observation
Control (plastic bread basket

Test (Skewers bread basket)

a) Physical Appearance

Excellent 

Good

25
 Bad

Five out of six panelist say it was excellent

b) Colour

Shinny 

Bright

Dull

All six panelist said it was shiny

c) Shape

Excellent 

Good

Bad

d) durability

Excellent 

Good

Bad

26
All six panelist concluded it was excellent.

DATA ANALYSIS AND REPRESENTATION

Physical appearance

Physical Apperance
Excellent
20% Good

80%

Colour

27
 Colour

Appealing

100%

Durability

Durability

Excellent

100%

28
CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 CONCLUSION
The research came up with a new product that is made from Skewers. The skewers can be wither
form a bamboo or a papyrus reed plant The researcher found out that the product was acceptable
and hospitality ventures were willing to adopt it in baking and other areas to enhance service
delivery.

5.2 RECOMMENDATION
The researcher highly recommends Skewers products in the hospitality industry and paces for
further research to find what other similar of closer products can be produced.

Further research can also be carried out to improve the quality

5.3 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

1. Lack of update researching material such a books and journals.
2. negative attitude encountered in the field from respondents
3. financial constraints as the researcher had to go for further research on Skewers basket.

53
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Food beverage service by Dennis Lillierap and John Cousins

Internet

Theory of catering

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